Dani Moreno and Eduard Marin Garcia on the last few
metres to the summit of the 5,325-metre high La Esfinge, Peru.

adidas.com/outdoor

unlock
your terrain

TEXT: MIKE MANDL

We love being out there in nature, surrounded by wind, snow, cold. We love
the seasons, and how they change. We love to move through these natural
environments by feeling the physical sensations of our pulses beating to
the max, our lungs breathing hard, and all our senses alert and alive. It’s all
about creating these deep experiences and true adventures. Experiences like
these can lead to some of the most enlightening moments in our lives,
especially when we discover a new door within nature’s playground that we
never knew was there. This door only becomes real through our
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by taking a real-life action and seeking those meaningful experiences, we
finally get to walk through it. This door comes in many shapes and forms,
passions and tastes, and all are as diverse as our various approaches
towards being outdoors. Yet the core experience remains the same. And once
we pass through one of these doors, we finally set our feet on new ground,
on new terrain. This ground becomes your terrain simply because it’s you
who unlocked and pushed open the door. In other words: you are the key.
Because we can’t think of anything more gripping than
this we dearly invite you to “unlock your terrain”.
“Unlock your terrain” can be a trip to an unknown land, a
journey where you dive into enticing landscapes and experience
foreign cultures to gain new perspectives and impressions.
EDITORIAL
2

“Unlock your terrain” can be a rainy late-night bike ride behind
your house, a climbing route or any other project that sends chills
running down your spine. Because you know that you have to leave
that comfort zone behind you if you want to achieve your goal.
“Unlock your terrain” has many faces. Just like the stories in this zine.
Slackliner Lukas Irmler travelled to Brazil not only to fulfil one of his
dreams by completing the classic on Pedra da Gávea, but also to open a
spectacular highline at the Tabuleiro waterfall. The new masterpiece goes
by the name of “No Rest for the Legends”. See page 16 to find out how it
earned the name. Nearby, but still far away on a different type of mission,
US climbers Kevin Jorgeson and Ben Rueck travelled to the land of the
soccer World Cup. Their objective was to explore promising new hotspots
for bouldering, but what they discovered was that the blocks of Brazil are
as fascinating and full of potential as the country itself. See page 12.
Two Spaniards, Dani Moreno and Eduard Marin Garcia, took
a step outside their comfort zone and discovered new terrain
in Peru. They pulled off a team speed ascent on 5,000metre La Esfinge, in the Cordillera Blanca. Less than two hours

to blast up 600 metres of vertical terrain! See page 4. Dreams fulfilled, new
terrain discovered, a speed ascent at the limit, all comes down to one core
state of mind: “Unlock your terrain!” And one sole. The Terrex Scope GTX®,
Terrex Solo and Slack Cruiser - developed and used by our athletes - are
built on the unbeatable grip delivered by STEALTH rubber. Because the
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best material is required when body and spirit venture through new terrain.
However different our athletes and however different their activities, one
sole produced a consistent result: one wickedly good feeling! This is a
feeling that we can all experience, too. Remember, each of us has the key.
We search for mental doorways to open to the terrain we’ve been dreaming
of. We look for athletic challenges, sport milestones, physical adventures –
these are the doors that we create ourselves, that only apply to us, and
that only we can open. For behind each door is new terrain just for us, a
chance to experience this unique feeling of exploration and discovery.
Not everybody is cut out for a life the way somebody like Luis Soto leads it
in Patagonia. He not only found his place in El Chaltén (page 38) but also
his inner peace. Not everybody is as strong as Barbara Zangerl, the first
woman to climb the Alpine Trilogy (page 30). Not everybody can take on the
challenge of the Stikine River, like Jared Meehan, Sam Sutton and Darin
McQuoid, who have kayaked its demanding yet beautiful waters (page 43).
But everybody can experience this incredible feeling, of passing through a
door inside of us and expanding our limits. This is YOUR terrain. Unlock it!
What we can offer you is the opportunity to experience a mindblowing outdoor week, including flights and accommodation, in
Brazil. As you will read in this issue, Brazil is an amazing country
with a wide range of opportunities to explore fascinating and diverse
landscapes. You can win this trip in our #unlockbrazil Challenge. If you
can navigate through the jungle of Facebook, Instagram and friends and
have an interest for outdoor activities - from climbing to trail - you
will have no problem unlocking each level and
perhaps ultimately end up flying to Brazil.
Go to adidas.com/outdoor and download our iPad® app for more photos, more
videos, more 3-D content, and more bonus information on all the stories in
this magazine. And visit our Facebook page. Zero effort involved - we promise!
And on that note, we wish you many days of getting out there and
experiencing what it’s like to

unlock your terrain!
You can begin by opening, enjoying and feeling inspired by
this new edition of the adidas outdoor magazine.

28

12
36

4

42

INDEX

34

3

30 40

16

20
4 la esfinge

The riddle of the Sphinx – Dani Moreno and
Edu Marin crack the code in Peru

12 tudo bem!

say Kevin Jorgeson and Ben Rueck on
their boulder trip round Brazil

29 reinhold messner column

Rock gymnastics without losing grip

30 alpine trilogy

Boulder Queen Barbara Zangerl
goes alpine for real

42 malawi

Mélissa Le Nevé and Ben Rueck
on a stunning boulder trip

43 stikine

Sucks in tree trunks,
spits out matchsticks

16 the slAck-B-C

32 girls just wanna have …

… functionality combined

44 welcome

“No rest for the legends” – Lukas
Irmler at the new slack hotspot

20 unbeatable grip

Meet the new STEALTH trio on the block

22 poster

Three big shots in South America

28 did you know that …

… STEALTH rubber was designed

for high-risk sports?

with their own style

Stefano Carnati

34 happy birthday

45 shortcuts

to the legend Reinhold Messner

36 patagonia

Three views, one fascination.
The scream of stone is silent but strong.

40 the latest innovations

What’s new for spring/summer 2014?

Hot news from around the world

46 product overview

LA ESFINGE – PERU
4

La

e
g
n
Esfi

the riddle of the sphinx
A lost wager, a debt of honour, two Spaniards and a Sphinx in the middle of
Peru - Dani Moreno and Eduard Marin Garcia together on a trip usually results
in the following: loads of fun. And some impressive ascents.
TEXT: FLO SCHEIMPFLUG PHOTOS: TIMELINE PRODUCTION

2-4-0

Edu Marin was sprinting up
the last few metres to reach
the belay when his partner,
Dani Moreno, called up to
him from 30 metres below.
“Hey, Edu!” shouted Dani, grinning
mischievously. “I have a riddle
for you! If you get it, the beers are
on me tonight! If you don’t, then
you pay! So, what do you say?”
“A riddle?” Edu shouted back,
gasping for air. “You know
[cough] that I love [wheeze]
riddles. [Gasp] And beer!”
Climbing quickly in the thin
high-altitude air of La Esfinge
(5,325 metres), an impressive
granite mountain located in the
heart of the Cordillera Blanca
of Peru, Edu coughed like an
old truck that will not start.
“Clip into the belay, cabrón!”
Dani said. “And I will tell you!”
Speed climbing in the mountains
follows a different set of rules
than that of, say, El Capitan. At
this altitude, being acclimatized
is a serious matter and if you’re

not making frequent pit stops,
you’re not going to make it. After
stringing together over a thousand feet of pitches, Edu tied a
clove hitch to the anchor, took a
deep breath, breathed out, leaned
back and relieved himself.
“So, cariño,” said Edu.
“Let’s hear the riddle.”
“That’s cute, you’re calling me
‘sweetie’! But if you think that’s
going to make it any easier for
you, you couldn’t be further from
the truth, Marino. This is serious.
OK, what goes on two legs in the
morning, four legs at midday
and no legs in the evening?”
“Ha ha, Dani, that’s easy! That’s
the riddle the Sphinx asked
Oedipus. I know my Greek mythology, amigo. Correct answer:
a man. He crawls on all fours as
a baby, walks on two legs as an
adult, and walks with a cane in old
age. Pay me my beer, por favor.”
“Hombre: firstly, we are in
Peru, not Greece. Secondly,
you have to listen carefully.

Not four, two, three, but two,
four, zero. Capiche?”
“OK, then I have no idea, Dani.”
“Well, it’s us two gringos, isn’t
it? We hike the approach on
two legs in the morning, during
the day we climb like crazy on
all fours, and when we finally
get to the top we are so finished that we can only manage
the descent on our gums.”
All was quiet for a moment,
neither batted an eyelid, then
suddenly Edu and Dani sprang to
life. They slapped each other on
the shoulder, then high-fived. A
quick glance at the time and then
Edu started handing the gear
to Dani. “Go on, the next
block is yours. We’ve still
got a load of climbing ahead
of us. So get moving.”
“OK,” said Dani, grinning
widely. “But don’t forget:
you owe me a beer!”

Back in the days

World Youth Championships,
Rouen, France, 2001. It was here
that a 13-year-old Dani Moreno from the tiny Spanish village of
Daroca near Zaragoza – first
met a 16-year-old Eduard Marin
Garcia, from Barcelona. They
discovered that they were on the

same wavelength and instantly
became friends. However,
because they lived so far apart
and neither had a driving licence,
they rarely managed to climb
together. When their schedules
did coincide, they absolutely
ripped up some rock together. The
chemistry simply worked through
this shared climbing passion.
Having fun on these trips was
just as important as sending
hard routes to Dani and Edu. A
dynamic duo? Without a doubt.
And a crazy one, too. And though
they often found themselves
separated for a long time, when
they did get back together, it was
always as if nothing had changed.
In recent years Edu has become
completely dedicated to sport
climbing. In 2006 he onsighted his
first 8c, and then became the first
to repeat the ultimate Spanish
resistance route La Rambla (9a+)
in Siurana. For Dani, climbing was
also a sport and a lifestyle that
demanded everything from
him physically; however, he
was more interested in seeking
those demanding projects on
big-wall adventures in the most
remote regions of the world.

Ready – set – go

“Dani, the Cordillera Blanca is
unbelievable. And La Esfinge, oh
man. A wall of golden yellow granite like from a dream. What about
the potential of Hatun Machay?
Bouldering, climbing, it’s neverending. You and me, my friend, we
have to go there, straightaway!”
Edu had just returned from his
first trip to the Cordillera Blanca

LA ESFINGE – PERU
5

and his unbridled enthusiasm
oozed from every pore. Following
an operation on one of his fingers
in the spring, he prescribed himself a month’s climbing in Peru
to convalesce. There, he discovered a playground of unlimited
possibilities. With his new buddy
Chuki, who runs a mountaineering agency, he spent days
climbing innumerable mountains
and returned to happy villages to
partake in a chill party scene.
In Hatun Machay, Peru’s sport
climbing and bouldering centre,
he found a load of new friends,
sent a bunch of new routes and,
despite a still-recovering of his
finger, he managed to climb Peru’s
most difficult route: Karma (8c+).
To Dani, Edu’s stories simply
sounded too good to be true.
But even more than the climbing, Dani knew he couldn’t say
no to the opportunity to climb
with his old friend Edu.
“OK! When do we go?”

Into thin air –
Lima, Huaraz
and Hatun
Machay

The Lima airport was busier than
an anthill after a period of rain
as a mass of people zipped by
in frantic, confusing directions.
Dani and Edu had just landed and
were waiting for their luggage
when Dani suddenly felt a hand
on his shoulder. He turned to face
a man he had never before seen.
The man offered him his hand.
“You must be Dani. I am Cesar

Augusto Vicuña Pajuelo.”
Dani studied him, astounded.
“Cesar who?” Edu, who was a
couple of paces away, bounded
over. “Chuki, old pal! What’s up,
amigo?” Chuki and Edu hugged
each other. “Dani, this is Chuki. He
is going to look after us.” The three
of them got into a taxi, crawled
through the evening rush hour
in Lima and, as they left the city
behind them, headed for Huaraz.
The next morning Dani, Edu and
Chuki sat in a bar, sipped instant
coffee and attempted to take in
their new surroundings. After all,
Huaraz is located at 3,000 metres
and for new arrivals coming from
sea level, such a rapid change
can really knock you out.
“Quite nice here, isn’t it?” said
Chuki, seeing a tired-looking Edu
and Dani slumped in their chairs
next to him. “You haven’t got
used to the air here yet. Did you
know that in Huaraz, you can get
a taxi ride into the mountains?”
Edu and Dani looked up astonished. “Look over there!” Their
gaze followed Chuki’s finger and
a couple of kilometres away they
really could see the summit of
the Cordillera Blanca illuminated by a surreal sheen. “Oh man,
what awesome colours! That
looks as though somebody has
turned up the colour-intensity
control,” murmured Edu as he
surveyed the mountainous vista.
“Colour-intensity control?”
said Dani. “The elevation is
shrinking your brain, amigo!”

“That is the air,” interrupted Chuki,
“behind the Cordillera. It comes
from the Amazon in thick, damp
layers that break up the rays of
light to produce this amazing spectrum of colour.” The Cordillera
Blanca is a mountain range,
180 kilometres long, that winds
its way through Peru from north
to south. It features 50 mountains
over 5,700 metres along the way,
including Peru’s highest summit,
Huascarán (6,768 metres). What
is unusual about the Cordillera
Blanca is not just the height of its
mountains, but also its location
in the southern tropics. The
Cordillera is a mountain range of
contrasts: it is steep and narrow,
yet due to its altitude, it has more
glaciers than any other range in
the tropics. Here, climate zones
do not merge gradually but collide
abruptly with one another. Tropical
plants in all their splendour often
grow only a few minutes away
from the austere desolation of the
moraines and glaciers. Mother
Nature puts on the whole show in
the Cordillera without abandon.
However, it is not just the local
mountain scenery that makes
Huaraz a place climbers can settle
down in. On a hill to the southwest
beyond the impoverished area of
town, there are the boulders of Los
Olivos. The immediate proximity
of climbing and the fighting for

01// Job done? Not quite! The lads enjoy the last rays of sunlight and the exposure of the ridge on the Sphinx that brings them back to basecamp.

survival in the suburbs – corrugated metal huts huddled together,
dirt roads strewn with potholes
and so many stray dogs on the
roam – seemed slightly unusual
at first glance. However, the
atmosphere changed immediately
when Edu, Dani and Chuki met
some local boulderers who were
already enjoying what the blocks
had to offer. A quick round of
enthusiastic introductions crossed
seamlessly into a lively bouldering
session, giving the impression
that these guys were old friends
who had never done anything
other than solve tough problems
together. That is what successful
integration looks like! Yet again,

01//
Downtown Huaraz,
where life knows no sleep.

01//
Finger care takes time, even if night falls.
Don’t forget to brush your teeth!
02//A vegetable seller watches his goods being
unloaded in the colourful bustle of the main market
of Huaraz.

01//
”Mono” the monkey tells Edu
left and Dani right what he thinks ...

01//
Los Olivos boulder above the gateway
to the city at an elevation of 3,100 metres.

01//
The shepherds of the Pampas Chico community
spend the summer living in their straw huts in Hatun
Machay and watch over their sheep.

01// A forest of volcanic rock spread over several square kilometres. Hatun Machay, a dream turned to stone at 4,300 metres above sea level.
02// The guys enjoy the last rays of sunlight before the bitterly cold night sets in. 03// Dani cruises to the exit hold on the horn of the “Rino”.

N

S

The Sphinx

Their Toyota crept and wound
its way around numerous bumpy
hairpins on the road to Parón
Valley. They passed small
farmsteads through a wooden
barrier, and continued up the
serpentine road to Parón Lake.
They parked and began their
two-hour hike to La Esfinge.
Finally, Dani and Edu stood
at the base. “And? Have I
promised you too much?”
“That’s pretty big,” is all
that Dani could muster.
The humble respect in his voice
was unmistakable. It was Dani’s
first time in a mountain landscape
of such monumental dimensions,
and his awe was not out of place.
Although the journey had only
taken a few hours, the guys were
now fully immersed in the high,
committing world of alpine
climbing. “Look, that’s where our
line goes.” The duo had come to
climb Via del 85 (5.11c), which was
first ascended in 1985 by Antonio
Gómez “Sevi” Bóhorquez and
Onofre Garcia. Over 750 metres
of the finest granite and right at
the top of the wish list. “If there
is one climb that we have to do,
then it is this one,” Edu had said
on more than just one occasion.
They started approaching the
next morning. The upper reaches
of the Sphinx was bathing in the

LA ESFINGE – PERU

PERU

7

we see how climbing is a passion
that comes into its element when it
is shared and for that very reason,
climbing knows no social, geographic or material boundaries.
The next afternoon, Edu, Dani and
Chuki ventured to the unique rocks
of Hatun Machay experience some
of Chuki’s first ascents. Chuki had
spent the previous year notching
up a load of first ascents and exploring potential lines. An unusual
thing about this rock paradise
is that you can reach it by public
transport using the so-called
collectivos. One and a half hours
after departure from Huaraz,
the four debarked from the bus
and stood in a beautiful green
paradise at almost 4,300 metres.
It was not just the altitude that
took their breath away, but also
the gobsmacking view. On a
virtually never-ending plateau
covered with yellow grass there
were thousands of rock pinnacles
in the most bizarre shapes with
the weirdest surfaces. Chicken
heads, honeycombs, typhoon-like
twisters, mosaics in quartz –
there was nothing you could not
find in this stone garden. Apart
from a couple of shepherds
tending their flock who lived in
self-built straw huts at the foot
of the rocks, the climbing area
of Hatun Machay felt deserted.
“It’s like we’re on the moon,”
said Dani. “Simply out of this
world.” After a full day on the
rock and a chilled Peruvian
night in the refuge, it was clear
to the Spaniards that Hatun
Machay “has good vibes”.
Although you could spend half a
lifetime climbing in Hatun Machay
and never get bored, the trio made
their way back to Huaraz. Before
they headed into the hills, Chuki
reckoned there was something
important for them to do first:
“If you want to experience the
full-on culture of a country, then
you have to party with the locals!”
Edu and Dani exchanged glances. Nothing easier than that.
As dusk fell, the nightlife in
Huaraz began pulsating. People
flowed onto the streets, their
voices filling the air. A brass band
rounded a corner, playing music.
Dani glanced into a small hallway
where partygoers beckoned them
inside. They danced, sang and
drank. Dani, Edu and Chuki were
made to feel as welcome as if
they were part of the family. They
were led onto a circuit of local
bars, of which there are many.
The night ended as they stumbled into the X-treme Bar at four
in the morning, arm in arm with
an entire town of new friends.

The next morning dawned with an unpleasant surprise: snow.
The whole valley was draped in clouds and the atmosphere was
damp and cold, the temperature hovering just above zero.

LA ESFINGE – PERU
8

soft pink morning light as Edu and
Dani reached the start of Via.
Dani took the lead and after
just a few metres, all doubt had
evaporated. No wonder, since the
rock features come at you in rapid
succession: double cracks, perfect
dihedrals, tricky slabs, but a long
way from a cakewalk climb. Placing protection and route-finding
created the greatest puzzles on
the Sphinx. The leader often found
himself in a position where a fall
would have severe consequences.
The climbers took extreme care
to not fall and to climb perfectly.
By the afternoon Edu and Dani
were standing on the summit,
taking in the panorama. They both
agreed that they had just climbed
the best route of their lives.

The boys on speed

Alpine rock climbing can be
compressed down to a series of
first moments: the first glance
up a wall. The first few metres
climbed. The first smell and feel
of the rock. These are moments
that can never be repeated or
recreated. Each time, it’s all new,
even if you return to a wall to
climb it again. Another set of vivid
first moments, all over again.
For Dani and Edu, Via del 85 was
not a route they wanted to climb
solely because of its beauty or
stunning location. They wanted to
push themselves to the limit by
climbing it as fast as possible. This
idea clearly pulsated in them after
years of climbing competitions.
Of course this approach is not
easy for everyone to understand,
especially the part about needing
to constantly pushing oneself.
Why do we take such risks?
Over and over again?
For Edu and Dani, life has to be
a challenge. That’s imperative.

Due to the weather, the idea of making a speed ascent of Via del 85
appeared to be as likely as a bathtub full of hot water suddenly materialising in the middle of basecamp. Dani phoned in a weather report,
which promised improvement, though not for a few days. No problem, as
Edu and Dani are champions at making the most of their time. Over the
ensuing days they had snowball fights, sculpted a busty snow woman,
sang Spanish folk songs, played cards and, in general, became classic examples of men behaving badly. One evening the curtain of cloud
withdrew and the sun shone through. Within a few hours the snow was
history. Hope was back on the cards. The next morning was clear.
Compared to a few days previously, they thinned the rack down to the
bare minimum. Apart from a couple of cams and nuts, a 40-metre rope
and a load of faith in the ability of themselves and their partner, Dani
and Edu took nothing with them. That is exactly what speed climbing is
all about: the right tactics, blind trust and an honest evaluation of the
opportunities you have at your disposal. Even if you are sure you have
all these capabilities in the chalk bag, climbing is still a risk. One small
error, one slip or missed handhold far above the sparse protection and
the consequences could be dire. There was no way they could hope to
be rescued here, in such a remote location. They were on their own.
OK, enough of the gloomy picture. It was time for the climbers to build
up some speed! Edu and Dani got fired up, though they still found themselves struggling with the thin air. Edu dispatched the first 300 metres
in a block lead. They were now halfway up the 750 metre long route.
They swapped leads, and Dani took the sharp end. They simul-climbed
and used every trick in the speed-climber’s book to keep moving.
And after 1:45:43, Edu and Dani stood on the summit ridge together. Blood beat like a bass drum in their temples and it felt like their
lungs would rip apart. No team has ever been faster on this route.
There were no problems on the descent and when the boys
reached basecamp the weather was still perfect. Their shapely snow woman had become an unrecognisable heap of mush.
The two were pleased that there was still some
time left before they had to break camp.
“Edu, we still have one day,” said Dani. “Who knows when
we’ll ever be here again. Let’s do something with it.” They
did not have to think very long because the Sphinx still had
one riddle to solve: a king line by the name of Cruz del Sur.
“Oh man, I can hardly believe it. That is one of the best climbs
I have ever done, Edu.”
“I am happy for you, Dani, but so far you have said that at every belay.”
Even the complex boulder section on the final 7a/7a+ pitch did not stop
Dani and Edu’s run. Yet again they demonstrated their abilities, and after
six hours and a few minutes they once again stood atop La Esfinge.

Lost wagers are debts of honour.

It is rare that folks achieve anything without having something to
say about it afterwards. Summits are not usually silent places.
Especially when it is two comedians like Edu and Dani.
“Amigo, this is our last tour,” said Dani. “I hope you haven’t
forgotten about that celebratory beer you owe me?”
“And I thought that in such a significant moment you
were going to say something meaningful like: ‘It is not
the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.’”
“Sounds like Alex Huber?”
“It’s Edmund Hillary, in fact. Let’s go, I need a beer.”
“Tranquilo, you’ll get your beer. But first of all show me
how to get down this mountain on your gums.”
“Couldn’t be easier.”
Dani lay on his stomach, lowered his head so that his
nose almost touched the ground, opened his mouth and
then started to crawl like a stranded walrus.
“Now you try – works like a charm!”
A priceless picture. Edu started to gabble away because he could not
believe what his friend was doing while Dani rolled up in laughter because Edu, snorting and floundering, looked just as idiotic. After a few
minutes they were both completely out of breath. They agreed that
they should keep at least some of their energy for the descent. They
threw their arms around each other again before heading back down.

01//
Playing cards, singing along, having
fun – no end of ideas for passing the
time at the basecamp.

01//
Nothing beats
well-rehearsed teamwork.

02//

01//
01//
Like these farmers, many in Callejón de
Huaylas live from traditional agriculture.

02//

LA ESFINGE – PERU

What’s up with the weather?
Between the seasons snow
is part of the picture ...

01//
Bouldering and sport climbing around basecamp
are as important as breakfast and supper.

03//

9

Basecamp is on the edge of a moraine;
let the view sink in every day in full HD.

01//
The array of colours of the Cordillera brings
new surprises every day.

02//

Luis and Maximus fit into the landscape like
the white peaks of the Cordillera.

01//
Edu on speed in the
double-crack crux of “Via del 85”.

01//

Dani tries mountaineering, sunrise on the
5,680-metre-high Vallunaraju and for breakfast
back in Huaraz; that is how awesome it can be.

The Andes in Peru feature the highest
range of mountains on the American
continent. Known as the Cordillera
Blanca, it includes 50 major peaks
over 5,700 metres high and extends
a total of 180 kilometres.

02//

LA ESFINGE – PERU

06//

10

01//

04//

07//

08//
05//

03//

09//

Part of this Cordillera Blanca is extremely
glaciated, while another section known
as Cordillera Negra is completely free
of snow. Overall, the result is a varied
mountain world full of contrasts, one
where the likes of Spanish alpinist Dani
Moreno feel at home. Whether sport
climbing up to 9a, ascending classic walls
in the Dolomites or speed climbs like the
one on the Sphinx: Dani feels comfortable
and safe in all terrains. There are many
reasons for this, although there is one in
particular that offers “unbeatable grip”.
We are talking about the TERREX SCOPE
GTX®, which handles challenging terrain
with the same athleticism and agility as
Dani. The sole is made from legendary
STEALTH rubber to provide a fine balance between viscosity and elasticity
for extremely high friction, paired with
interfacing L-shaped studs that claw into
the ground for reliable grip uphill and on
descents. The smooth climbing zone in
the toe area is ideal for rocky climbing
sections and the stabilising heel facilitates
descents over scree and hard surfaces.
Thanks to the breathable GORE-TEX®
membrane, the Scope thrives in the
snowfields of the Cordillera Blanca as
well as in the dry Cordillera Negra:
moisture is kept out because water vapour
can escape even if the legs inside the
TERREX MULTI PANTS give everything
they have got. These pants in lightweight
and highly resistant 4-way stretch
material are ideal for high intensity
sports and are perfectly complemented
by the TERREX WINDSTOPPER® HYBRID
JACKET. Dani needs full freedom of
movement while climbing and the
dynamic FORMOTION® cut moves with
him, enabling the highest possible
performance without restricting
movement during the widest imaginable
range of activities. The materials used for
the hybrid construction of this jacket are
also wide-ranging. They work together to
optimise wind protection, ventilation and
flexibility, depending on the area of the
body. This top performance item comes
into a class of its own as the intensity level
increases. That applies too in relation to
the weather. The application of lightweight
yet tough WINDSTOPPER® Active Shell
makes it absolutely windproof with a
compact stowage volume and maximum
breathability. Used in combination with the
TERREX 1/2 ZIP SHORT SLEEVE TEE made
using merino wool and Cocona® fibres,
they deliver intelligent moisture
management and expand the comfort
zone into the extreme sector. Ensuring the
necessary outlook and overview on the
summits of this planet is the TERREX PRO,
which thanks to an antifog-coated Twin
FilterTM and climacool® offers ventilation
even in the most extreme conditions
and is as athletic as Dani’s visions.

4 January, 2010: the up-and-coming Brazilian climbing star Felipe Camargo
had just sent his 3rd repeat of what was probably Brazil’s toughest boulder at
that time: “O dia santo” (8b+) in the São Bento bouldering zone. The send was
uploaded to the Internet, and caught the attention of his followers thanks to
the video and news updates. The key message was: “O dia santo is the best
boulder I have ever climbed! The 16 widely-spaced moves on good holds require a lot of stamina, which is totally my style. We need lots of climbers from
other countries to come to Brazil and help us on all these projects! Consider
yourselves invited.”

Tudo bem:
two Brazilian-Portuguese
words for all eventualities.
The phrase is a way of life,
a philosophy.
Tudo bem is precisely the attitude you
need to get the most out of an intensive
bouldering trip to the country that hosts
the World Soccer Championships.

Kevin Jorgeson
BORN: 7 October 1984 in California
WaS: a member of the US Youth
Climbing Team from 2001 to 2002
LIKES: challenging climbs which
are psychologically demanding
HaS: done the first ascent of a
must-do highball – “Ambrosia”
(V12/5.14 Buttermilks/USA)
ATTEMPts: at the moment one
of the most difficult routes on
El Cap, Yosemite

Ben rueck
BORN: 13 May 1986 in Colorado
WaS: an extremely versatile
athlete as a child
LIKES: complex climbing
moves and exciting cruxes
HaS: a Bachelor in history
ATTEMPts: to find the
right balance between
devotion and discipline

Tudo Bem means something
like “What’s up?” If you are in
Brazil, then there is only one
cool answer to this question:
thumbs up and: “Tudo bem!”
That is because tudo bem also
means: “Everything is OK!” So it
goes like this: Tudo bem? Tudo bem!
Everything is OK, brother. Could
not be better. Anytime, anywhere.
Brazilians have an easy-going
demeanour that seems simply
innate. They’re always in a good
mood. Sunshine radiates from the
hearts of all smiling Brazilians.
What if someone rams your car
at full speed and totals it? Tudo
bem. After all, you are lucky that
nothing has happened to you.
What if the whole country, despite, or perhaps, because of its
rocketing economic development
is still not where it could be on
a global scale? Tudo bem.
What if you you leave your backpack
stuffed with thousands of dollars of
camera equipment on the beach and
suddenly a huge wave sweeps over it
and carries it out to sea? Tudo bem.
Wait … Tudo bem? Admittedly,
there are nuances of tudo bem that
tend towards: “It is what it is.” In
other words, it’s not always a happy
connotation but it can suggest an
acceptance of life’s capricious ways.
That is not what Murilo was thinking
as he realised that thousands of
dollars in camera gear and priceless photos might be drowning in
salt water and sand. For someone
who views everything in life as tudo
bem, Murilo considered what sand
would do to his camera lenses and
seawater to his USB cards and he
had a different expression: “Shit!”

Once again, tudo bem! All is well and everything will be OK … at least until you
climb to the shaky top-out point ten metres off the ground. The crew met Felipe
Camargo and his brother Bruno and experienced true Brazilian hospitality –
welcoming, sociable, relaxed and chilled. The next day, the climbers picked
up where they left off in São Bento, a place that Ben described as “the most
beautiful place I have ever been climbing”. São Bento is special. Green hills,
green mountains, in every possible shade of green, and even more bouldering
opportunities. “You could spend weeks here,” says Ben. But then they moved
on to the next spot. Kevin: “Murilo, how long will we be on the road?” Murilo:
“Less than two hours.” It would actually be over four and a half hours.
Tudo bem.
Ubatuba is a small city on Brazil’s south coast, famous for its ten adjacent islands, 72 beaches and awesome bouldering. The Praia da Fortaleza peninsula
stretches into the ocean. Despite the surf, the tides and the coastline, right on
this brazen finger of land there are blocks of rock strewn around that are rated
as among the best in Brazil. Well over 100 boulder problems are here for the
solving. No surprise, then, that a major bouldering festival is held here every
year. Nor is it surprising that a bouldering community has developed here
either. Kevin, Ben and Murilo stood in Ubatuba on one of the granite blocks,
waiting until the water retreated again. No climbing just yet. Were they being
tudo bem about it? No! They were tense! No climbing!
After their long car journey it was too late yesterday evening to start climbing.
But it was still early enough to catch a glimpse of what awaited them the next
day. It looked more than promising. Is that why, in an attack of over motivation,
they all set their alarm clocks for 4:30 am? Possibly. What we do know is that
although all the alarm clocks went off at that time, the crew did not get up until
four hours later. No need to hurry things. The Brazilian way of life seemed
to be taking effect. Heavy clouds hung in the sky with rain on the horizon. In
these conditions, bouldering comes to a standstill. If it does not work out as
planned … tudo bem. The crew got moving. They were lucky. Climbing was fun,
the scenery impressive. The boulders on the narrow peninsula were right next
to the ocean, and the waves crashed onto the beach. The waves got larger and
larger as they were bolstered by the approaching weather until they reached
monstrous proportions, forcing the three to run to a high rock for safety, abandoning Murilo’s backpack of camera equipment.
As soon as the water had retreated, the pale Murilo rushed to the place he
had stashed his stuff. He laughed out loud with relief. “Tudo bem!” Inside the
labyrinth of the rocks the waves had miraculously broken up and somehow left
the backpack high and dry. The magic of Brazil.

TUDO BEM! – BRAZIL

Tudo bem!

Tudo bem!
This guiding principle is also recommended in regard to the national sense of
time. It is well-known that time is relative and in Brazil it is perhaps slightly
more relative than elsewhere. If an itinerary is supposed to take less than two
hours, then you can expect that the journey will take at least six hours. Beware
any journey officially in excess of two hours – you can easily multiply the duration that has been given you with a smile by a factor of two or three. Kevin:
“How long will we be on the road?” Murilo: “About an hour.” Actual journey
time: almost three and a half hours.
Tudo bem? Tudo bem! Brazil is simply huge. Perhaps this geographic size
explains the laid-back attitude of Brazilians. Stress is not going to get you
anywhere. But tudo bem will. If you do not arrive at a climbing area until an
hour before sundown, it’s better to make the best of the situation. This is something Brazilians do well. It is why this country is rapidly on its way up. As is the
climbing scene, as Felipe Camargo demonstrated. Finally the Americans and
Murilo arrived in São Bento. Impressive granite boulders were everywhere.
Some of them were recognisable from the videos. In honour of the guests,
whose tastes for tall boulders is well-known, a highball was served up on their
arrival. The block was far too high to comfortably jump down to the ground,
although that is often given as a defining feature of bouldering. What can you
do in this kind of situation? Gradually get started? Take a break because you
have just arrived? Start warming up?

13

TEXT: MIKE MANDL PHOTOS: KEITH LADZINSKI

The invitation was accepted by Kevin Jorgeson and Ben Rueck, two American
climbers. Kevin is definitely one of the most versatile climbers today, who feels
at home on massive highball boulders as well as Yosemite big walls. Ben is
also a multi-talented climber when it comes to vertical adventures. He is one
of those climbing globetrotters who has already put his chalked-up hands all
over the place. His first impression of Brazil: “If a country’s culture is reflected
in their attitude towards climbing, then we are in for an interesting trip.” Upon
arriving in Brazil, the two dove into the local culture. They met Murilo Vargas –
the local aficionado, the guide, the driver, the photographer and the first point of
contact for part one of this trip. Kevin and Ben were surprised to discover that,
apparently, a prerequisite for obtaining a driver’s licence in Brazil appears to
be multiple viewings of the film “Fast and Furious”. Murilo certainly seemed to
be putting it into practice with screeching tires, overtaking cars beside scary
precipices, passing oncoming vehicles, carts, people and missing donkeys by
mere millimetres.

"Wh ich rule ?"
"Do n´t die! "

TUDO BEM! – BRAZIL
14

Howeve r, assumi ng
is not knowin g.

01// Gustavo burning the midnight light for the send. 02// Ben hoping his new beta lets him make it through the crux. 03// The crew all enjoying the stars after a hard days work.
04// Kevin racks up while Ben looks on at the upcoming adventure. 05// “Welcome to Itatiaia” – Kevin remembering the first rule... “No dying!” Tudo bem.

Time stood still.
The boulder wasn't really difficult.
I climbed slowly and carefully, well aware that I
couldn't afford to make a mistake at the top.
One last pull and I was on top.

So it was back to business, to climbing. Ben: “The rest of the day was spectacular. Kevin and I managed to crack a couple of classic highballs and a bunch
of other boulders. At the end of the day our fingers were tired, but our spirits
were running high.”

1

The next morning they got straight back to it. This time in Itatiaia, an area so
spectacular that it was declared Brazil’s first national park. Of course, Kevin
had to ask: “How long will we take to get to Itatiaia?” Bruno: “A bit over two
hours.” Actual time? Only five hours! Tudo bem. Bruno, the new driver, did
make the journey pass more quickly though, with gripping stories about his life
in Brazil. They drove through the diverse country. Mountains, valleys, dense
jungle: green as far as the eye could see. The long yet interesting journey ended
with excellent Brazilian food and the anticipation of this unique climbing area.
Itatiaia is a Brazilian expression that means “rocks with many sharp edges”.
Kevin and Ben were nervous about driving down the rocky off-road route to
reach the area as they were in a normal car, not a specialised 4WD. In this situation only one thing helps: tudo bem. The road got too rough, and they traversed
the last section on foot – good for both the nerves and eyes. Suddenly they’d
arrived in an oasis for those thirsty for climbing. Boulders were everywhere
with “never-ending potential”, as Ben described his first impression. Massive
granite blocks with some bizarre shapes and interesting lines. The French
climber, Enzo Oddo, had been here and established a hard but rewarding route
rated 8c/+.

Kevin has the eye. He noticed something: another line, short and direct, on a
perfect block with one tiny drawback: the route ended in three final moves with
20 metres of air beneath your feet. Making an error here would result in serious
if not fatal consequences. What should they do? Tudo bem! It is exactly this kind
of climbing on big, tall, scary lines in which Kevin thrives. Like an excited child
he put on his shoes and chalked up. Then he grabbed the boulder: “Time stood
still. The boulder wasn’t really difficult. I climbed slowly and carefully, well
aware that I couldn’t afford to make a mistake at the top. One last pull and I
was on top. I enjoyed the overwhelming view and the boulder kind of reminded
me of a first ascent I did in South Africa and called ‘Welcome to Rocklands’.
That is why I wanted to call this climb ‘Welcome to Itatiaia’.”
Then it was Ben’s turn: “The boulder looked easy, but the mental challenge
was immense. That was confirmed by a sudden pressure in my stomach.” Ben
dropped out on the first attempt, but managed it on the second. However: what
goes up, must come down!
Ben: “How the heck did you get back down again?”
Kevin: “You have to jump across to the next boulder.”
Ben: “You mean the one from which you would surely die if you screw up?”
Kevin: “That’s the one! But don’t forget the most important rule!”
Ben: “Which rule?”
Kevin: “Don’t die!” Ben jumped. Tudo bem.

15

2

PHOTOS: MURILO VARGAS

The hunger for adrenalin, the appetite for exhilaration, seemed satisfied. It
was good that Gustavo Fontes and Caio Salomão AFeto were part of the crew.
It was them who had provided Lukas Irmler with excellent support during his
slackline mission. They are as multi-talented as they are warm-hearted. Both
are exceptional ambassadors of the Brazilian way of life: always motivated,
always ready to lend a hand, always on top form.

4

5

Kevin and Ben tried out several of their boulder problems, but after the first
highball, they wanted to spend the rest of the day having fun. The day ended
with a laid-back session over a panoramic view.
Rope climbing was the agenda for the next day. To be precise, the ascent of Enzo
Oddo’s line was waiting for them. They climbed a route that was fitted with bolts
only as far as the first half. On the second half you had to fit protection yourself.
Kevin wanted to lead it. Ben reckoned that even without wedges they had enough
pro to make it reasonable. However, assuming is not knowing. Tudo bem can
be a healthy dose of fatalism, but when the reserves reach the end then fatal
wins the day. This important concept didn’t sink in for Ben until he was above
the last bolt he had to acknowledge that they were not going to get through on
his protection. Retreat? No. Go on? OK, tudo bem after all. With Kevin’s help,
who had already climbed the tricky sections and was able to call out beta, Ben
managed to gain headway though he was “mentally fried”. Did they have enough
reserves for the Oddo route? Or had the supply of tudo bems run out? Dusk was
knocking gently on the door and Kevin was almost there. He had the redpoint,
the send, in the palm of his hands, but the sun was setting behind the horizon in
a haze of red clouds. Shame. It was over. Tudo bem. Enjoy the moment instead.
Hang around a bit longer. Look at the stars that gradually crystallised out of
the ever-darkening atmosphere. There was now quiet. Nothingness. This, in
fact, is something Brazilians seem to have a special relationship with. It was
something that will remain in Kevin’s and Ben’s memories, something that can
be taken back home with them. Home? Yes. Tomorrow was time to drive back
to Rio. Tudo bem.

BRAZIL

N

S

In keeping with tradition, the final
evening was spent on the beach.
Sand, bikinis, surfers and a crowd
that happily cheered the setting
sun. That is what you do here.
Every evening. A shout of jubilation
from the Brazilian soul, a celebration of the country‘s beauty, a
celebration of the Brazilian way
of life, a feeling that lives through
the stark contrasts and is still
authentic and life-affirming. Ben
and Kevin will definitely come
back. That is certain. Tudo bem.

Three different models, one key attribute –
unbeatable grip. Terrex Scope GTX®, Terrex Solo,
Slack Cruiser. Three shoes launched by adidas featuring STEALTH rubber, known for its unmatched
performance on rock and line. Extremely high friction is created by STEALTH rubber’s fine balance of
viscosity and elasticity as it flows into microscopic
cavities on surfaces. Thanks to this unique rubber
compound and advanced sole concepts, the three
models guarantee ultimate performance on their
specific terrain.

TERREX SCOPE GTX®
For approaches in alpine areas with rocky and loose terrain and
minor climbing sections. In addition, the interfacing L-shaped
studs claw into the ground to deliver extra grip on ascents and
descents.

TERREX SOLO
Now, for the first time, climbers and boulderers can enjoy the
lightweight approach shoe with STEALTH rubber – the unique
compound that offers unbeatable grip and ultimate performance on any gradients and low-grade climbing.

01/ STEALTH RUBBER
for unbeatable grip.

02/ CLIMBING ZONE
in toe area.

03/ ADIPRENE®
insert for comfort and shock absorption.

04/ PRO-MODERATORTM

21

UNBEATABLE GRIP

for midfoot stability.

SLACK CRUISER
Using STEALTH technology in its sole and a low profile for maximum surface area, the Slack Cruiser offers unbeatable grip.
This means that not only can you perform tricks on the slackline
but also straightforward approach climbs for highlining are no
problem. The forefoot of the Slack Cruiser is very flexible and
sensitive, while the midfoot offers good stability. In addition,
feet are low to the ground, giving a natural feel.

01/ STEALTH RUBBER
for unbeatable grip.

02/ FULL-LENGTH SOLE EDGE
for precision walking and landing.

03/ TOUGH CANVAS TOE CAPS
reinforced with TPU prevent abrasion as they have to
withstand frequent jumps and contact with the line.

Cole quickly turned his attention to inventing high-friction rubber for specialised climbing shoes. “No one had actually done any research on rubber
for climbing shoes at that point,” said Cole. “With my engineering background I knew it would be fairly easy to invent a new rubber.” At the Cal
Tech library he read everything he could about rubber. He devised his own
theories about what would increase its stickiness. Finally he approached
chemists at a rubber company about producing his formula. “My first
formula was not all that great,” says Cole, “but it was good enough.” He continued experimenting. Later he got a call from one of the chemists who said he had
screwed up one of Cole’s formulas, but to come check it out anyway. At first Cole
wasn’t interested in seeing the chemist’s mistake. But after a second prodding,
Cole went to the lab to check it out. He was blown away. The fluke formula was
actually way better. “My first question was: ‘What did I do wrong?’” Cole said.
“The wrong formula became the right one, and we went on researching from
there. I got a little lucky.”

28

In 1985 Charles Cole was living the dream in Yosemite when he found the note
that would change his life. Tacked to the Camp 4 message board, the scrap of
paper said: “Call home.”
During those years Cole lived as a climbing bum, splitting his free time
between Yosemite and Joshua Tree where he achieved many first ascents.
Notably, he climbed “Jolly Roger” (VI 5.11 A5) in 1979 with Steve Grossman, on
El Cap’s southwest face. And in Joshua Tree, Cole edged his way up the slippery
slabs “Run For Your Life” (5.10b R, 1978) and “When Sheep Run Scared” (5.10c
R, 1983). In July 1985 Cole soloed the first ascent of “Space” (VI 5.10 A4) on El
Cap’s southeast face. It was after this ascent that Cole found the disturbing note
to “call home.” He immediately dialled up his mother. His father, he learned, had
suffered a stroke and a heart attack. “All of a sudden my family had no means
of support,” said Cole. “I was 30 years old, so I knew I had to do something for
my family.” Though Cole was a dirtbag climber, he was also educated, with an
engineering degree from University of Southern California, and an MBA from
the University of Michigan. One of Cole’s assignments in business school was
to make a list of potentially profitable ventures. Right at the top of his list was:
“Make new rubber for climbing shoes.”
In the early 1980s, climbing shoe rubber was generic stuff with low frictional
properties. It performed horribly on glacier-polished Yosemite granite.
One popular model of climbing shoes used rubber from old airplane tires.
Many California climbers were wearing a Polish-made tennis shoe called,
appropriately, the “Scat”. It was comfortable but had a flimsy sole that
climbers would attempt to replace with patches of old tire rubber, cobbling
together their own makeshift Frankensteins of footwear. Approaches and
descents can be some of the most dangerous parts of a climb, especially if
you’re wearing slick-soled sneakers. Cole realised when he had a nearfatal slip while descending Sentinel Rock in Yosemite. “Climbing is the only
sport I know of where the shoes can define whether you can do a route or not,”
said Cole. “Your shoes can make you or break you.”
In the wake of his father’s sickness, Cole, with the help of his mother, started
Five Ten®, a name referring to a climbing grade in the Yosemite Decimal System.
His original inspiration was to build a “hybrid” shoe that was technical enough
for climbing, comfortable enough for walking and incorporated sticky rubber
on the sole. The term “approach shoe” didn’t exist at the time, but Cole built
the first one – the Five Tennie – in 1985.

STEALTH rubber had been born and with it climbing progressed forward by leaps
and bounds. Clad in sticky-soled shoes, climbers were now enjoying a degree
of security that they’d never known before. They could stand on footholds, and
therefore climb routes once deemed impossible. Over the next six years, standards hurtled forward from 5.13+ to 5.14+, largely thanks to sticky rubber. “In
dangerous sports, where people were risking their lives, people appreciated
what we made,” said Cole. “It changed the way climbing was done.”
STEALTH rubber garnered a reputation for being the highest-friction rubber
available. In fact, STEALTH has been used by the military, NASA, the Cirque
du Soleil and even Hollywood: Tom Cruise relied on STEALTH for his climbing
stunts in the series of “Mission Impossible” movies.
One of the keys to Cole’s success is that he invested, early on, in building his
own rubber lab, 30 feet from his office, where he could easily tinker with new
formulas. Cole bought most of the equipment used on eBay and from bankruptcy
auctions. “Now that I have my own lab I can produce four samples a day,” he said.
While working with Tom Cruise and the “Mission Impossible” team, Cole was
asked to make a shoe that could climb glass and metal. He had a new formula
of rubber on a pair of shoes within two weeks.
Cole has always been motivated by creating products that help extreme athletes
be better at what they do. Improving athletic performances is a goal that has
also been central to adidas as well. In 2011, in a historic and celebrated partnership, adidas acquired Five Ten® and immediately began working with Cole
on recommendations for shoes that would benefit from STEALTH rubber. It was
immediately clear that the adidas Terrex Solo was a perfect match for STEALTH
C4. World-renown climbers Bernd Zangerl and Alexander Huber were some of
the first athletes to test the Terrex Solo, reporting amazing results. In climbing,
having proper friction not only means improved performance but it can be the
difference between life and death on extreme approaches and descents.
Climbers are not the only athletes in need of high-friction soles. The confidence
inspired by having STEALTH underfoot can now also be experienced with the
adidas Terrex Scope GTX, which is a more stable alpine approach shoe based on
the Terrex Solo but with a higher profile and an upper with a GORE-TEX® membrane. In addition, the team developed the adidas Slack Cruiser, a STEALTHsoled shoe specialising in slacklining and tricklining, sports in which having highfriction grip for your feet is crucial if you want to land on that thin, elusive line.
This is only the beginning. Project teams in Redlands and Herzogenaurach
stay in touch regularly, in person and on the phone, creating a dynamic,
forward-thinking partnership that is just getting started. Many have noted
that adidas founder Adi Dassler and Charles Cole have a lot in common:
both are visionaries who have spent a lot of time in the lab, testing, experimenting
and working on products that help make athletes better.
Currently, new rubber formulas are being developed and experiments
conducted. And who knows? Perhaps luck will play a role in it all once again.

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WITHO

“Chamois hunting is one of the most necessary and yet most difficult
and dangerous pastimes of a very special kind. The hunters can make no use
of dogs. The hunter often has to jump from one steep rocky pinnacle to another himself. His equipment consists of a poor-quality smock, gun, powder and
shot, a bag, which contains some dry bread and meat or cheese, and a pair of
boot irons, which he can fit to his boots to climb steep rocks or glaciers. His
hostelries are the Alpine farms where he finds replenishment in the form of
milk and dairy products. Here he can also spend the night, often simply lying on
the ground. Frequently he will go out to hunt in the morning, and either never
come home again, or have to be carried away in bits. He often falls such a great
height over rocks and mountains that he is never found again.
The animals are often driven by the hunter, or several hunters, into a corner
that is hardly half a boot-width wide, a high rock wall in front and a bottomless
precipice behind. When these animals see that they cannot move forward and
their enemy is behind them, they suddenly start jumping in panic from one rock
to another, past the hunter, who they push into the abyss. In such dangerous
situations the hunter either lies flat on the ground so that the chamois can jump
over him without contact, or he stands upright as close to the wall as possible
so that the animal can jump past him.”
It was not until the early 1900s that the first significant innovations came along as
far as footwear for rock climbing was concerned. At that time the Dolomites were
not only a challenge for the best climbers, but were also a centre for innovation in
mountain sport. The two-man mountain guide team, Michele Bettega and Bortolo
Zagonel – unmatched back then – were asked by an English woman to accompany
her on the first ascent of the Marmolada south wall. The team worked well
together having successfully climbed other first ascents and they were familiar
with the steepest rock. They also carried new types of equipment with them: bolts
and lightweight climbing boots.
Beatrice Tomasson, from the home of English rock climbing, was at the time
employed as governess for Edward Lisle Strutt in Innsbruck, where she joined
the Alpine Association in 1894. The two of them climbed many mountain routes
together. Later, E. L. Strutt was even the second leader of the British Mount
Everest expedition in 1922. He climbed to an altitude of almost 7,000 metres. For
Tomasson, the most important thing was experience in rock climbing. Did the
well-connected lady have new boot soles from the colonies in her box of tricks?
In 1898 together with Luigi Rizzi they were the second team to climb the crumbling west wall of the Laurinswand, which at the time was reckoned to be the
most difficult rock climb in the Dolomites. At the top of the route her mountain
guide used iron bolts that he had hammered into cracks in the rock during the
first ascent. In 1900 the daring lady and Luigi Rizzi successfully climbed the
south wall of Daint di Mesdi in the Sella Group and following their first ascent
of Torre del Sass da Lec in the same area, she and her guide risked a reconnaissance of the Marmolada south wall. On 1 July 1901 she then undertook her
greatest adventure, first ascent of the south face of Marmolada di Penia: 600
metres of smooth, almost vertical rock. But how?
Her brilliant guide Luigi Rizzi from Campitello in the Fassa Valley had to give
up because it was too difficult. And did not Otto Ampferer and Karl Berger –
who successfully managed the first ascent of Campanile Basso in the Brenta
Group – also fail in attempting to climb the Marmolada south wall? Yes, but
with climbing boots with Manchon soles. These important excursions in the

The main thing was to complete the climb quickly. All three of them wore climbing boots and carried lightweight backpacks. Michele Bettega, 48 years old,
does well in the melt water-formed chimneys. From the first ledge he leads the
team into a large left-hand arc linking up with the second terrace. In the middle,
however, the weather turns nasty. It hits the climbers on the upper section of
the wall. Beatrice Tomasson is hit by falling stones. Bettega hands over the
lead to Zagonel, who manages to climb the icy summit wall. In a snowstorm.
Twelve hours after Tomasson, Bettega and Zagonel left Obretta Pass, they are
standing on the summit, from where their support team – Dal Buos and Soppelsa – guide them across the Marmolada glacier back down into the valley. They
are all wearing nailed boots, which grip well in slush and ice. So it was better
climbing boots that heralded the start of the age of “modern” climbing, difficulty
grade alpine climbing. Over the next century more and more equipment and
techniques were developed with ever more daring routes attempted. Although
this development was criticised as “careless and pointless rock gymnastics”
at the 1901 German and Austrian Alpine Association General Meeting in Meran
(pointless climbing sport compared to serious mountaineering), the search for
better grip continued. Alpine history is never just philosophical history; it also
involves aspects of a technical nature: experience, development of equipment
and techniques. They determined the art of climbing from the very start. Since
the beginning of the 20th century climbers have worn especially soft shoes
with felt or Manchon soles, similar to today’s special climbing shoes, although
these offer many times more friction. Back then, however, there were already
climbing shoes available with rubber soles. “Red Indian Rubber Soles” were
apparently in use by 1888. Irishman G. Scriven and the mountain guide Michele
Bettega used them on Pala di San Martino, for example. Protection included
open-hook bolts, quickly followed by karabiners and snap rings that allowed
the rope to be clipped into the bolts. Beatrice Tomasson, who climbed many
summits in the Dolomites with her favourite guide, is full of praise for Bettega:
“He conquered all of these summits without making a single mistake. We never had to turn back and always managed to successfully finish everything we
started. It is actually superfluous to praise a mountain guide who is capable of
such ascents and I can say that I am extremely satisfied to have had the great
luck of accompanying such an excellent guide again and again.” But no mention
of the “Rubber Sole”.
In autumn 1902 the best climbers of the day from the Wilder Kaiser, Georg and
Kurt Leuchs, climbed the Marmolada south wall, bivouacked and then reached
the summit directly via the final wall. Georg Leuchs said: “A small cave offered
emergency refuge. Pulling together all our strength and skill, at the same time
as exercising the greatest of caution, the next day we managed to slowly but
surely climb the snow-covered wall. It was a deliverance from anxiousness and
doubt as we finally caught sight of a black triangle shimmering through the mist
to the right of us.” Today’s climbing shoes offer a completely different dimension
in friction efficiency compared to those worn by Bettega, even though their
shape and design are not dissimilar to the cut used at the time. Rugged mountaineering boots, like the ones we wore in my childhood – on extreme rock as
well as on the north face of the Matterhorn – are out, as are hobnailed boots too.

29

Every important piece of equipment – from hobnailed boots to crampons
and bergstocks – was adopted by the first mountaineers from mountain
farmers and chamois hunters in the Alps, as the “Travel diaries”, Berlin 1768,
explain:

Dolomites in 1901 – Beatrice Tomasson with mountain guides Michele Bettega
and Bortolo Zagonel – were not only organised by a woman, as the initiator of
this first ascent Beatrice Tomasson was also responsible for the right guides
and the best equipment. Bettega is most creative at finding the right line, while
Zagonel, 15 years younger, is the ideal climber if the weather takes a downturn.
But neither of them are capable of miracles. Tomasson, Bettega and Zagonel
left behind two other guides – their support team – after spending the night at
the Ombretta Alm. The support team carried the nailed boots and warm clothing
to the summit of Marmolada di Penia. To the east of the Ombretta Pass, Bettega
started climbing the system of chimneys that rises up to the right below the
first ledge. The team were equipped with everything that was available at the
time, including some important new kit. Bettega had mastered the rope traverse, he had rubber soles on his climbing boots, he was fine-tuning a method
of rappelling, and he used bolts as protection mid-pitch. All that at the end of
the 19th century!

REINHOLD MESSNER COLUMN

REINHOLD MESSNER

Queen of the

lpine

“Silbergeier” on the 4th Kirchlispitze in Rätikon (CH).

What do you do if you have planned a nice big project, done it, and then find out to your surprise that there are still plenty of good
climbing days left in the year? Take time to chill? Not if your name is Barbara Zangerl. Then you take a week off to gather your
thoughts before setting off to a new destination.
Originally, completing the Alpine Trilogy was not on her list, she even surprised herself with that one, she says. Now she is the first
woman to have repeated all the Trilogy routes. Three routes that still count as the most difficult in the Alps. Three routes that up
until 1994 only four men were able to write in their diaries. It is therefore quite right that the climbing scene is full of admiration for
“one of the strongest women climbers in the world”. The first ascenders are particularly impressed. “The Boulder Queen has rediscovered herself,” says Beat Kammerlander, “she has extreme climbing ability.” Thomas Huber agrees: “Babs is one of the greatest
in the Alps. Just imagine switching from two-metre blocks to 200-metre walls in such a short time.” Stefan Glowacz goes even
further, speculating that she is the protagonist in a new era: “Women are daring to show what they can do. There has been nobody
like this since Lynn Hill.”

“This one-finger pocket grip on the 5th pitch. Because I am
relatively small, I had to overstretch on this one and then, from
this position, move my foot up to almost shoulder height.”

“A tiny undercling at the crux on the 5th pitch, which was always
damp. You have to stick your fingers right in and then immediately grab the next move with a slimy hand. No time to rechalk.”

“A small, vertical crack that you have to finger-jam at shoulder
height before reaching over to the next hold on the right. It is
difficult to exert downward pressure on your feet in this position. Repeat climbers have found an alternative parallel route
that is safer to climb.”

The toughest pitch?
“All the pitches on ‘Silbergeier’ are tough, but the 5th is especially challenging because you have to maintain the pressure
for a very long time.”

“The 8th is the most difficult technically. There is a foothold,
which your feet just do not want to stick to. I needed many
attempts before I could finally climb that section.”

“The area around the crack on the 8th pitch is the crux of the
route. You can redpoint up to this point relatively easily and then
come two, very tricky, metres. By then you have used up quite
some energy after eight pitches. I have even dreamt in my sleep
about these two metres.”

How did the idea for this route evolve?
“It was an open project by Martin Scheel from 1986, he only
managed to climb the first 15 metres; time was not right yet. I
managed to climb that section straightaway in 1993 and then
kept on going. It was a no-brainer since I come from that area.
I had already done a number of first ascents, like ‘Unendliche
Geschichte’ (‘Never Ending Story’) in 1991, the first alpine route
in the upper 10th grade. ‘Silbergeier’ became my milestone, the
most beautiful route I have opened up.”

“Climbing the central section of the Fleischbankpfeiler
was Wolfang Müller’s idea. He used to belay me there with
immense patience when I was training for competitions. In
return, I had to promise that I would be with him to do the
‘Emperor’ at least once. It was a real eye-opener: I was so
impressed that we spent the whole of summer ´92 there to set
up the route. Unfortunately Wolfgang was not able to be there
for the redpoint in 1994 due to an injury.”

“As a young climber I had a summer job at the Traunsteiner hut.
I had already been climbing and dreamt of doing the first ascent
of exactly this route. ‘The End of Silence’ was a childhood dream
and in the end a very important project. From the first point of
contact to redpoint it took me more than eight years. I had other
objectives meanwhile, but always came back to Feuerhorn.”

What does the name of the route mean?
“That is what Martin Scheel called the route and he was pleased
that I kept the name. It refers to the light-grey, silver shimmer
of the rock surface.”

“‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ is intended to indicate something
novel about the ‘Emperor’ – a new dimension in performance,
new rules to the game, a new grade of difficulty. We were
pioneers back then.”

“I was virtually a prisoner on this shady wall for hours, days,
months at a time. Often I was also alone here and it was a very
intensive but also silent time. When I finally nailed it, I had conquered a new world and won back my freedom. It was also the
end of the silence.”

What were you most frightened of?
“The never-ending runout on the last pitch was certainly
scary. Especially because I had already bailed there once and
had heavy rock contact during the flight. Still, I didn’t want to
place a runner as mid-way protection. It was about crossing a
psychological barrier.”

“The landlord at the Stripsenjoch mountain hut. We were
friends and he often used to let us ride up the mountain on the
goods cableway. It was an extremely wobbly affair to start with,
but he used to have a laugh by switching the cable car off when
it reached its highest point. Once, when the gondola started
slowly jolting backwards, we were 150 metres above the ground
with our nerves in shreds.”

“The beautiful summer in 1994. It was simply too hot to be able
to grip the handholds. At the end of August it finally cooled
down.”

What should repeat climbers bring with them?
“Courage or a 200-metre rope.”

“Good calluses on your fingers and an understanding for some
old-school climbing.”

“A couple of Camalots and nuts maybe. People say that we have
skimped on bolts on the easier pitches.”

“ The Boulder Queen has
rediscovered herself. ”
“Because I am so stubborn,” says Babs. That is why the Austrian had put the “Silbergeier” route on her to-do list for 2013, the Beat
Kammerlander masterpiece in Rätikon. A very special route for the 25-year-old, one which will literally remain a painful memory. That
is because the tricky underclings on the 5th pitch were probably the reasons she had to abort her first attempt on the Kirchlispitze
in 2011 due to back pain with a vengeance stemming from a slipped disc developed earlier during bouldering. On that occasion she
had teamed up with Nina Caprez. Their objective: the first female ascent. It was then claimed by Nina, and Babs had to suffer “the
waste”, as she called it, of six months forced rest.
In 2012 it was she who came back with a vengeance, snagging Thomas Hubers jewel “The End of Silence” - part one of the Trilogy.
It was with mixed feelings when she returned in 2013 to take on “Silbergeier”, a mixture of excitement but also “I was worried
about an injury relapse,” she says. But then everything felt so much better. Without having to boulder cautiously she climbed the
critical sections and the best thing was that she was completely free of pain on the dreaded undercling moves. On 28 July she had
topped out. Everything went so quickly. Faster than planned. And that is how, just a short time later, hikers on the Wilder Kaiser
heard the echo of a woman cussing very loudly. Every half an hour the f-word echoed through the landscape. Because yet again
Babs was hanging on one of the most difficult routes in the world. This time on the 8th pitch of Stefan Glowaczs highlight “Des
Kaisers neue Kleider” (“The Emperors New Clothes”). “For me the most athletically demanding route,” she says. But she pulled
through, exceeding the known limits of her strength. Even she was stunned at being able to somehow fight her way up the final
pump moves as she grabbed the lifesaving hold at the top of the crux. “My nerves had all but deserted me and I was holding back
the tears,” she says. By 7 pm she was standing on the summit of the Fleischbankpfeiler with her climbing partner Jacopo Larcher,
who would go on to bag the same route a few days later. What does she look like when she is happy at winning a battle like that? Just
watch her film “Same same but different” (about “The end of Silence”) to witness such a moment: she shouts “Fetzengeil, voll cool,
geil!” across the mountains! Elated. Happy. Relieved.

Three climbers, three routes, one objective: raising the bar in
sport climbing. 1994 signalled the start to a “new age in alpine
climbing” with the euphoric celebration of three first ascents.
“Des Kaisers neue Kleider” by Stefan Glowacz on the Wilder
Kaiser (9 pitches), “Silbergeier” by Beat Kammerlander in
Rätikon (6 pitches) and “The End of Silence” by Thomas
Huber on Feuerhorn (11 pitches) still rate today as some of the
most challenging routes in the Alps with an upper 10 grade of
difficulty.
Even after 20 years, the number of repeats can easily be counted
on two hands. For all three routes – the complete Trilogy – one
hand is enough. So far, only five people have repeated all three
climbs: Stefan Glowacz, Hari Berger, Ondra Benes, Mark
Amann and, as the first woman, Barbara Zangerl.

Imagine that you are two metres above your last bolt. It’s only another half metre
to the next clip, but you have no idea how you’re going to get there, or what to
make of that tiny undercling above your head. Or perhaps you find yourself glancing down at the crashpad far beneath you, wondering whether you should go for
the dyno or not. Your body tenses with determination. You jump for the top of the
boulder, and pray the hold behind the tickmark is good.
These are the moments when the world around you is swallowed up in silence –
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TALKING. WRITING. BEING SILENT.
As long as there are so many topics out there and as long as I feel the longing to describe and
mentally digest them, I will continue to write even if I will write a little less than in the past.
In the book I am currently working on I try to put to paper my experiences about the naked
human nature. I will certainly not write about my past adventures anymore although I might
briefly scan some of them to show where the experiences that I am describing are coming
from. Of course, these experiences are distinct and subjective but in my opinion they can be
transferred to anyone. Some of my future readers might say: “This is terrible, I can hardly
believe what he is writing” and maybe this book will be a spark for a discussion about morals.
That’s exactly what I want because for me every moral, be it law or religion, is insincere.
The fact that we (the traditional mountaineers) are moving within an archaic space
following anarchic patterns because all responsibility rests on our shoulders alone, provides
us a point of view on the human nature that civilisation does not allow. And this human nature
is what I am going to describe. Nowadays those spaces where we can be on the way as
“anarchists” become less and less. Gym-climbers know as little about this space as those
who climb Mount Everest when there are more than 1,000 people in basecamp and the
mountain is perfectly groomed. 90% of the climbers want to climb harder and harder
every day but they never sacrifice. Not the chalk, not the bolts and not the oxygen when they
climb high mountains. It is therefore obvious that the idea of sacrifice hasn’t been a
successful one and remains a past period in alpinism. Nowadays alpinism is mainly a sport.
What is happening on the 8,000-metre peaks I call “extreme tourism”.
This means that an organiser grooms the mountain to put a big number of people
on top of it: the client walks a slope to the mountaintop. There’s no doubt that this
is exhausting and also great, because it gives people the opportunity to achieve
something extraordinary. But we have to face things as they are: this kind of approach
has nothing to do with traditional, independent and self-responsible mountaineering.
I am interested in what the British call “trad-alpinism”. There exists loads of mountain and
adventure stories that haven’t been dealt with from a psychological point of view. In this regard alpine history is stuck for an answer. I am more and more interested in what happens to
humans respectively the human nature when it performs crazy tasks: what have those people felt, in which fear trap have they tumbled? I have hundreds of such topics in mind but you
can relax, I don’t intend to work about all of them. In the future I will definitely not answer any
denunciators anymore. There exist more than enough conspiracy theories about me already.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

“A GREAT PLEASURE FOR WALKING AND MUCH
CURIOSITY IS WHAT KEEPS ME GOING”

34

Reinhold Messner is 70. What can one say about this? Much? Little? The usual? Something
different? More than all the others? This is not an easy question. One that everybody has to
answer for oneself. The answer that we found is simple: we say nothing – and let Reinhold
Messner speak. Last but not least this interview is meant also as a gesture. A gesture of
gratitude for a decade-long inspiration as well as one to submit our wishes with.
With this in mind we wish you a Happy 70th birthday, Mr Messner!
TEXT: FLORIAN SCHEIMPFLUG

CHANGE OF
PARADIGMS AND
SENSE OF WELL-BEING.

Back when I traversed the Gobi desert I started off in a state of timelessness.
I felt neither young nor old. But the Gobi traverse became a key experience.
Afterwards I told myself: “You should not do anything like that anymore.”
I realised that my ability to suffer was not the same anymore as it always
had been. Strength and skillfulness are the first qualities to decrease in the
course of a lifetime. From a well-built endurance you can live off much longer.
The last thing to decrease is the ability to suffer.
In the past I did 2 – 3 expeditions per year. At the age of 55 I switched into politics for
a short time and detached from that way of life. The older I got the faster the depletion
progressed. I didn’t do as much as I used to and mainly lost my endurance but for a long
time I had the feeling I still could achieve anything if I only really wanted to. The Gobi
experience has changed that for good, I have accepted it and backed off. Meanwhile I agree
to be an elderly gent and I honestly feel good about it. For sure I am not going to deliver any
sensations anymore. My 70th birthday is definitely no key experience for me. I see it in a
relaxed manner. I will invite my good friends and we will celebrate in an alpine surrounding.
Whoever intends to use my birthday to tell any stories may do it, I let it happen.

THE PRESENT AS A
MEANS AGAINST BOREDOM.
I am not worried that I will be bored in old age and I am sure not going to suffer
from the fact that won’t be able to do this or that. I am really looking forward
to pursuing my doings with neck and crop. The passion is still there. I am currently working on an idea, indulging in a passion or in other words: I am working on financing my new
project. Besides that there exist plans to climb a few moderate routes in the Dolomites in
the next year but this will be irrelevant for high-end alpinism. On the other hand I do feel a
huge enthusiasm for all these young guys who achieve those crazy things – be it in the walls,
in sport climbing or in alpine realms. Some of them push limits and go beyond boundaries
which I haven’t even considered. For example David Lama and his project on Masherbrum
(7,821 metres, Karakorum/Pakistan) or Hansjörg Auer. I have gazed up some of their walls
when I was young only to decide that this wasn’t for me. Impossible! All the bigger is my
respect for their attempts. As far as my statements go, my purpose is to not let traditional
mountaineering perish. In my point of view the professional alpinism of the present is more
of a sport or a kick than it is adventure. In my opinion this is neither alpinism’s greatest value
nor opportunity. The task of a self-responsible being moving in an archaic world is what
offers the most experience. Neither speed nor the product earned from an ascent play a role
in traditional mountaineering. Nowadays every big route is being filmed and documented
professionally simply because it is possible. Fair enough. But photo and film only play a
secondary role when it comes down to the experience. It holds true for “trad-alpinism” that
the better an ascent can be represented the lesser it is worth as an adventure. Mountaineering is about experience and the fundamental question what happens to the human nature
when it is exposed to all these difficulties and dangers in the vast world of the mountains.
PHOTO: ARMIN HUBER

THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF A SUCCESSFUL LIFE.
One of my basic statements – this can be also read in my upcoming book – is that a successful life does not exist. But in the moment of doing there exists a
succeeding life. If we are close to our tasks, when we really merge in our issues and dare our things there is flow. The point is that no one can tell us that what we
have chosen is not our thing. I have been close to my things throughout my whole life but I was also lucky to having had the opportunity to experience so many great
moments. But all of them are gone irretrievably and can’t be added up to a “successful” life. In sum they are my biography which I am responsible for. About a month
ago my son found a notebook in my library which contains about 50 records of potential first ascents which I was interested in years ago. These are all first ascents
that I never made. The tasks are well-documented: there’s a photo of the wall and the line of the route is marked. My son was quite surprised: “Daddy, so many of
the things you intended to do you didn’t.” That’s true, there’s a lot I didn’t do. For example the “Fish” (Via attraverso il pesce, 7b+) on the Marmolada south face
(Dolomites) or the Dhaulagiri south face (8,167 metres/Nepal). I failed on the Lhotse south face (8,516 metres, border of China/Tibet) as well as on the
Makalu south face (8,463 metres, border of China/Tibet).
There´s indeed a lot I didn´t accomplish and even more which I neither tried nor finished.
Because I became scared or simply wasn’t able to. On the other hand did I accomplish more that I ever dreamed to do. I owe this to great partners such
as Sepp Mayerl, Peter Habeler, Hans Kammerlander or Friedl Mutschenlechner. But also to my wife who let me go without mourning and to my ideas
as well as my creativity. I have been glancing at alpine history very early and have gained a detailed picture of the state of mountaineering and its
current developments back then. All these sides are part of my life as an adventurer.

BACK TO THE FUTURE.
If I was 20 years again, I would not think that I’d be able to generate the same passion that used to carry me in my early years. I simply
lack the talent that people like, for example, Stefan Glowacz have. I really admire him for his skills. Or Hansjörg Auer who is built
like a spider. Because I always lacked those extraordinary skills the enthusiasm wouldn’t be able to come up again. Back then
when I was 20 years old I was a decent climber of the 6th UIAA grade. How safe or not safe I was may be left undecided but
the 6th grade was the maximum of what was possible back then. I became extremely lucky to meet climbers who were
two, three, seven years older than I was and were way ahead of me as far as skills and experience go. They taught me
a lot and I was able to improve quickly. That happened without any rivalry or competition and I always faced them with
admiration and respect. Skillfulness I approached their level quickly and that was when I got lucky again to meet
famous mountaineers who I accompanied on much bigger ascents only to see that they were also the same
everybody else. The understanding of where I was standing at that time helped me to leap forward because
it showed me the state of my skills. This led to tensions of all kinds because those people felt outstripped,
but without their unintended psychological help I wouldn’t have dared to do a lot of things.
If I was 20 years again and climbing with Hansjörg Auer, I would quickly realise
that my skills are by far not well-developed enough to get closer to him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

If that enthusiasm hadn’t struck me like it did, I wouldn’t know what could have carried me and
what I would have become. One thousand and one attempts led to my self-empowerment. This
self-empowerment helped me to understand who I was within this scene. I owe my career
great teachers such as Sepp Mayerl and Peter Habeler but also Toni Hiebeler who gave
me a push from a wholly different side to leap forward.

DEATH ZONE.

35

I grew up in a valley in the Dolomites and from when I was five years old I have
been confronted with death almost automatically: grandparents, neighbours, friends.
Death was self-evident but it never concerned me. I had my first “real” death experience
that lasted for a few days when I was on Nanga Parbat (8,126 metres/Pakistan). To me it
seemed clear that I would die and not only my brother who was struck down by this destiny.
Back then I was content to die because it would have been a redemption. Last but not
least this didn’t happen. The attitude to see death as part of the game disappeared after
this experience. I have been climbing before this experience as well as after it and I have
always done some spicy stuff but I never had the feeling that I would die. “I got it, I am
not going to die” was my attitude. Now at the age of 70 I feel that death is slowly
becoming part of my life. My view on the world is made out of realities.
My father was already dead at this age.

THINGS THAT DISAPPEAR.
THINGS THAT REMAIN.
The question “What will remain from Reinhold Messner, what will survive him?” I can only answer like this: nothing will remain,
everything will disappear. And it’s good that way! Space and time dissolve with death. The image of dying is like entering a desert
and getting lost within it. Non-being is time- and spaceless. Finally not even what I have created with the museum (the Messner
Mountain Museum) is really me. The museum is about showing the confrontation man-mountain beyond all time. It is not my story
in particular which this museum is meant to uphold. This confrontation is meant to be updated until kingdom come by all those
people who are occupied with it. In this sense the Messner Mountain Museum is arranged sustainably as a process that can be
upheld. Next year when all six houses (a centre and five satellites) are ready, I will say goodbye. I will still hold my hand over
it in financial matters and put money into it when a negative balance should arise, but as long as enthusiasm and work are put
into it and as long as there are mountaineers who carry on with their passion for the mountains, the museum will be able to survive
on its own and I can let it go without a problem. Some of my ideas and perspectives will survive or melt with other beliefs, some
will soon be forgotten. Others will interpret my thoughts such as I have updated and amended the thoughts of Preuß, Mummery
and Bonatti. Maybe some of those thoughts will last over centuries like those of the founders of the religions but in the end all
comes together in a common whole. For me it is sufficient if some of my ideas can contribute a small bit to this common whole.

“For me it is sufficient if
some of my ideas can
contribute a small bit to
this common whole.”

WANTING TO BE OUT THERE: AGAIN AND AGAIN, STILL.
My wish for the future is simply being able to make my ideas come true. Of course only those that are realistic. Whereas I may say that some of these visions are already there. Besides health I wish for
enough energy as well as the means and possibilities to realise some of these ideas. What I wish for the most is the pleasure to go out as well as a warm nest as a home. Nowadays I notice some old friends
of mine – some of them over 80 years old – losing the pleasure to go out behind their garden fence although they have always been outside with great passion. If you lose this passion, you also lose the
power to do it. A great pleasure for walking and much curiosity is what keeps me going. I don’t feel the need for extreme climbing anymore. When climbing the worries arise much earlier than they
used to. Last year I did a first ascent in the Geisler mountains in the Dolomites with my son Simon. The rock was loose and there was a constant threat of falling stones. By the way I told him: “There’s
300 metres of wall above us and it’s nothing but a pile of debris. If something breaks off, it looks dim – it will slay us.” We pulled it off but I didn’t feel comfortable about it. When you are young you approach
things like this differently: “Nothing’s going to break today,” you tell yourself. The ascent was far from uncritical but it was also incredibly beautiful for me to share such an experience with my son.

I have been privileged my whole life which was due to my mother and later to my wife keeping my back free.
Only thus I could freely live out my passion. If it stays like that, it can’t get better for me.

PATAGONIA
36

THE SCREAM OF STONE IS SILENT BUT STRONG.
We cannot hear it. But we can feel it quite clearly. We feel it right
where everyday thinking ends and the soul starts to breathe.
The scream stimulates something inside us that is far more
elementary, archaic and primal than we can perceive with
rational awareness. This scream of stone comes from Patagonia
and echoes from the proud, perhaps even arrogant, granite
monuments of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. It tells of God forsaken
sand deserts, endless grass steppes, immense glaciers that
carve their way roaring into the ocean and of course the winds
that brutally lash the dark clouds, rain and snow before them.
It was the winds that circumnavigators of Cape Horn from an
earlier age feared so much. The storm winds that appear to
dance wildly with the weather and the landscape.
The scream of stone defines Patagonia, a surreal land at the
end of the world with an average of two inhabitants per square
kilometre. In no uncertain terms does this landscape suggest it
needs you, that you have a right to be there. In Patagonia, you
may as well be a grain of sand being blown around in the southern tip of South America.

settlers and pioneers there were truly more promising countries to explore. In times however, a few European explorers
turned up; then Chile and Argentina extended their agricultural
fingers into the barren soil of Patagonia. Finally, very gradually,
the scream of stone resounded. It was quet at first, coming from
the massive tower of smoking stone and ice that the indigenous
people named “El Chaltén”, the “smoking mountain”. The adventurers were drawn to the “smoking mountain”, the peak we
now call “Fitz Roy”.
In 1951 a French group of climbers led by Lionel Terray arrived
in Buenos Aires with two and a half tons of equipment. Their
destination: FITZ ROY. One year previously, Lionel had played a
major role in an expedition that managed to crack the first 8,000metre peak ever climbed: Annapurna. In 1947, Lionel became
the second person to climb the north face of the Eiger. He had
also established classic routes on the north faces of many other
alpine peaks as well. Lionel was a man who was comfortable
both at high altitude and on the most technically difficult routes.

Despite this wildness and desolation, there is no other land that
sums up untold longing like Patagonia. The scream of stone
reaches your soul – that previously unmoved, wild part of you
that seeks adventure and uncertainty. While the Himalayas
have gradually devolved into a multimedia sports arena, with
insignificant stars seeking their 15 minutes of fame and broadcasting, via every available digital channel, their dramas into
the cosy living rooms of armchair climbers, Patagonia has
retained its purity, intensity and authenticity. Even now. Is that
the reason why I still get goose pimples when I hear the name
Patagonia? Thank goodness I am not the only one.

Fitz Roy, however, quickly put him in his place. The first attempt
yielded only 20 metres of progress. There were another 700
metres to the summit. Months of nerve-wracking climbing ensued. Ultimately, on 2 February, 1952, a 48-hour push without
food or water landed Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone on the
summit of the 3,406-metre Fitz Roy. Some viewed this ascent
as the beginning of a new direction for alpinism in which technically difficulty was more important than just the elevation of
the peak itself. Now, technically demanding walls and aesthetic
lines also had their place in climbing. Lionel and Guido could
see Cerro Torre constantly during this expedition, but they both
agreed that climbing would be impossible.

The first time the name Tierra de los Patagones appeared
on the world map was during the 16th century. Serving King
Charles V, Ferdinand Magellan was looking for a new route to
the spice island of the Moluccas. In 1520 Magellan spent the
winter on the west coast of Patagonia and met indigenous
Tehuelche Indians, who with their wild and archaic appearance reminded Magellan of the giant Patagon in the “Novela de
caballerías”, one of his favourite reads. This means, should this
legend be true, that Patagonia is named after a fictitious giant.
It remained a fictitious giant for a very long time, because for

BUT THE SCREAM OF STONE WAS LOUDER THAN THE FEAR OF
THE IMPOSSIBILITY. In 1958, Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri attempted Cerro Torre from the west side and managed to reach
an impressive height. Around the same time, an expedition led
by Bruno Detassis and the “Spider of the Dolomites”, Cesare
Maestri, approached from the east, also without reaching the
summit. While Bonatti declined a second attempt the following
year, Cesare Maestri returned to the Torre. Apparently, Maestri
finally managed the first ascent via the east wall on 30 January
1959. Why apparently? Well, during the descent Maestri’s part-

ner Toni Egger was killed by an avalanche. The camera with the
summit photo was lost. As a consequence Maestri was not able
to prove that he really was on the summit.
Maestri returned home a hero, but his contradictory accounts
caused the climbing community to question his achievement,
quietly at first. But increasingly vocal doubts were raised over
the years. Despite the criticism and the fact that his lost equipment was never found, Maestri maintained that he and Toni
Egger were the first people to stand on top of Cerro Torre. By
1968, however, Cerro Torre was considered still unclimbed – an
“IMPOSSIBLE MOUNTAIN”. Enough was enough for Maestri. He
went about proving the opposite.
In 1969 Maestri returned to Cerro Torre and committed one of
the greatest atrocities in the history of alpine climbing. With the
help of a 180-kilogramme compressor and more than 300 bolts,
he started to drill his way up the southeast ridge of the mountain.
The Patagonian winter forced Maestri to take a break, but on 2
December 1970 he and two comrades finally reached the end of
the wall below the summit, but decided not to climb the imposing
snow mushroom atop Cerro Torre, which they did not regard as
the summit: “IT WILL BE BLOWN AWAY ONE DAY ANYWAY,” was
his justification. Maestri reckoned that the mountain had been
climbed and that his integrity had been restored as a result.
What remains of this hack job? An ice mushroom that refuses to be blown off the summit, a compressor that is still hanging on the wall as well as the trauma of Maestri’s vandalism
of the route. This was a trauma that the alpine world had to go
through again in 2009. The cause of this was none other than
the upcoming climbing star of the day, David Lama, who had
managed to transfer his technical ability to big alpine walls. He
regarded a free climb of Maestri’s “Compressor” route to be an
ultimate test of his ability, one that should be well-documented for posterity. However, the film team that accompanied him
drilled into open wounds when they drilled even more bolts into
the rock on Cerro Torre, which observers reckoned had already
suffered enough damage. The public was outraged. David Lama
– the public’s darling up until that point – suddenly stood in a
crossfire of criticism with the climbing community congregating in major online forums and agreeing that he had committed
blasphemy.

PATAGONIA

I HAVE A DREAM
“ IF PATAGONIA DID NOT EXIST, WE WOULD HAVE TO INVENT IT; WE
HAVE TO BELIEVE IN THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM. ” CHRIS JONES
N

PATAGONIA

37

TEXT: MIKE MANDL PHOTO: LUIS PABLO SOTO JUNIOR

PATAGONIA

S

This took place at a time when Everest had long succumbed to
big business. Reports from the world’s highest point were being
filmed in high quality; high-paying tourists were being carted
up to the summit on fixed ropes with all-inclusive hospitality.
Over lunch they could check in via satellite phone with their
loved ones at home. Chomolungma, “Mother of the Universe”,
had been debased, sold-out, humiliated. This was a fate suffered silently by many proud mountains, especially in the Himalayas. It was ironic that all these self-appointed guardians of
the climbing’s Holy Grail were publicly dragging down one of the
best, one of their own. WHY?
It must have been Maestri who started it. But Maestri was not
the only one who subdued a mountain with his stubbornness
and all the equipment at his disposal. Naturally, his method
crossed a certain line in terms of style and alpine ethics, but
that is an ugly part of mountain sports – not a particularly
elegant part, admittedly, but along the same lines as a cyclist
taking delight at a star athlete’s doping scandals. Today, peaks
are claimed to have been climbed skyrunning style, with – as
Messner has said – routes prepared to make summits more
accessible. Plus, David Lama was not alone in attempting a
major film project on a challenging wall. So what is with the
indignation and outrage when it comes to Patagonia?
I have never been to Patagonia. But Patagonia is somehow in
me. In image form, at least. As well as feelings for these images. Dreams consist of these feelings and these images. Why?
How can a country be so fascinating even if, like me, you have
little or no direct relationship to it? And why is it not just me,
but so many other people, who feel this way? What is the cause
of this tangible fascination? Could it be, that for us Patagonia
represents an archaic island, a stronghold, an unblemished
rock of serenity in the mad, loud, high-speed chaos of the
21st century? Maybe political turbulence, economic crises,
environmental disasters and permanent digital networking
simply lose their power in Patagonia’s barren wilderness.
Perhaps this desolate land represents a necessary antipode to
our modern world of excessive stress and consumerism. After
all, where can we find the last place of freedom?
WHAT INTERESTING AREAS OF THE WORLD HAVE WE STILL TO
DECLARE AS PLAYGROUND OR MARKETPLACE?

Shangri-La is a fictitious location somewhere in the Himalayas.
Then again, maybe not. The cloister where residents retreat
from the temptations, toil and turmoil of civilisation to lead their
lives in harmony and peace has never been found. As a myth,
Shangri-La stood as a modern form of paradise. Apart from a
few camera flashes, the Himalayas have lost their radiance.
As a sounding board for our longings they have gradually lost
their appeal. Paradise lost. Not vice versa. Where can we find a
paradise today? In today’s modern civilisation we have certainly
created a paradise: we are prospering, more than ever before,
but every coin has two faces and the other side of our consumerist paradise is the one that suppresses and chokes us with its
omnipresent abundance. We have created a prosperity that no
longer works for us. It might be better to say that we work for
prosperity. We spend most of our time maintaining, multiplying and defending it. We are modern slaves in our own modern
world. Inside it we are not only losing sight of the big picture, but
also of ourselves.
That is why our modern paradise should promise us less, rather than more. Less abundance, more substance. Less noise,
more quiet. Less choice, more orientation. Less pressure, more
space. Less artificiality, more authenticity. Less supervision,
more life. Patagonia, with all its legends, appears to fulfil all
of these demands. “IN PATAGONIA EVERY ACT, EVERY CHOICE IS
SIGNIFICANT,” says Patagonia expert Gwen Cameron. Meanwhile, are we not living in and with structures that we can no
longer really understand or appreciate? An unpaid mortgage in
the United States can put jobs in jeopardy in Germany. A storm
in India can destabilise the euro. An overambitious banker can
put the global economy at risk. Patagonia, by contrast, promises transparency. There are few rules in this land. In the mountains there are even fewer rules. Orientation is easier. Follow
them and you will survive. Ignore them and you will suffer the
direct consequences. Every choice is significant. It might sound
tough, perhaps. But at least it is honest and direct.
Could it be that Patagonia reminds us of a time in which our
life, though archaic, was both comprehensible and self-determined? Does the scream of stone echo in our genes rather than
in our heads? Would our genes prefer a pure life to a complex
one? Is it that we have less yearning for Patagonia and more for
ourselves, for the intensity of being? Are we happier wrapping

these yearnings in thoughts that we can deposit at the end of
the world in the hope that they will blossom better in the raw
climate of Patagonia than in over-air-conditioned or overheated
working and living units? Does the myth of Patagonia contain
the ingredients for Paradise 2.0, for a Shangri-La of the digital
age? Is that precisely the reason why Cesare Maestri’s and David
Lama’s actions created such tidal waves?
BECAUSE THEIR DRILLED BOLTS ATTACKED NOT MERELY A
WALL, BUT OUR WHOLE CONCEPTION OF THE LAST POSSIBLE
WILDERNESS PARADISE?
Anyway, what is it going to be like when I eventually visit Patagonia? Will the land give me what it had promised me in images
and myth? Do I even want to go to Patagonia? It may be that I
am even frightened of having to face up to possible changes.
Changes such as those described by Alberto del Castillo, the
founder of “Fitz Roy Expediciones”: “El Chaltén is, as the temporary visitor would like to believe, unfortunately not a tiny island
of the blessed, but a microcosm of society.” Of course, the times
are changing. The inhabitants of Patagonia want to have their
cut from the profits of tourism as well. Investors locate potential. Tourists arrive. And there is one thing they always bring
with them: themselves. Unfortunately that is precisely the company they were hoping to take a break from in the emptiness.
Is Patagonia strong enough to retain its authenticity? I am not
sure. I am leaning towards a platonic relationship, because in
the future I will need a sounding board too. Perhaps I do not
want to know the truth in such detail. I need Patagonia in my
head so that I can continue to dream. I have these dreams and
I need these dreams. Although in actual fact I am not dreaming about Patagonia. I dream of being as free as a condor in
harmony with its surroundings, soaring to new heights. Is that
the message of the scream of stone? Is it that what Patagonia
pioneer Chris Jones – who in 1968 managed the 3rd ascent of
Fitz Roy – meant: “We have to believe in the impossible dream.
Tomorrow’s adventurers will need to seek their own Patagonias!” Over the next few pages we ask the adventurers who have
already fulfiled their dreams and found their Patagonias.
Although I can still say: “I HAVE A DREAM.”

THREE VIEWS, ONE FASCINATION:

ABOUT PATAGONIA

Thomas Huber and Matteo Della Bordella have dedicated much time to
climbing in their beloved Patagonia. The legendary Reinhold Messner has
passed through Patagonia on his way to Antarctica, climbing here only a
little. Though these three climbers all have different relationships to these
stunning Argentine mountains, they all share a deep relationship to and
interest in Patagonia, one of the world’s great bastions of alpine climbing.
TEXT: MIKE MANDL PHOTOS: ATHLETES, *RIKY FELDERER

WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR YOUR FIRST TRIP TO PATAGONIA?
Until 2004, my focus was almost entirely on Yosemite, US, and the Karakorum in Pakistan. At
some point, however, I wanted to see and experience something new. My brother Alexander had
already been to Patagonia twice and couldn’t stop talking about it. Since reading Reinhard Karl’s
book “Zeit zum Atmen” (“Time to Breathe”), climbing in the Torres had become a major dream of
mine. The Torres, the Holy Grail of mountaineers! In 2005, I had the opportunity to go to Patagonia
and together with Alexander and Stephan Siegrist we set off for our big project: a traverse of the
Torres. It was perfect. I immediately felt at one with the landscape, the people and the mountains.
In the beginning, everything appeared to go well. Alexander and Stephan had to return home earlier, but I was lucky enough to meet Andy Schnarf from Switzerland, who was also without a climbing
partner. We decided to team up and get on with it. We ascended a new route on Torre Egger – at
that time, rarely climbed – and Andy became the first person to stand on all the peaks in the Torre
group. The end of my first trip was, at the same time, a promise to come back again next year.
As a member of the “Lecco Spiders” mountaineering group, I was confronted early on with
the legendary stories of Casimiro Ferrari. His historic and wild first ascents in Patagonia – Cerro
Torre, Cerro Murallón, Fitz Roy … Each of these mountains was a dream. In 2010, the time had
come; I wanted to experience Patagonia in the most pure and intensive way, which is why, even
though it reduced the chances of a successful ascent, we chose a tough challenge: the west wall of
Torre Egger. It was exactly as we imagined it.

PATAGONIA

I have been there quite often because at the beginning of the 60s I wanted to travel from Patagonia to Antarctica. I didn’t manage that until 1986. The landscape captivated me and I found the
people to be very much on my wavelength. My own mountaineering career, however, did not take
place in Patagonia. Of course, I followed pioneers like Bonatti, Magnone, Egger, Salvaterra, Ferrari, Bridwell, Karo, Orlandi and many others. Patagonia used to be an imposition – poor weather,
storms, exposure. Thanks to the satellite weather reports and new apparel available today, it is a
big challenge for the climbing elite. I was too late in coming to Patagonia! To begin with I couldn’t
afford to climb there, then I was focused on high-altitude mountaineering. When Hans Kammerlander and I failed just below the summit of Fitz Roy, I was too old for this kind of climbing. Traversing the Hielo Continental Norte, much later, was more my kind of thing.

38

For me, Cerro Torre in particular is the reason why I wanted to come back and undertake the
long journey. I also love this country, its culture and its people. Although I hardly speak a word of
Spanish, as a gringo I have become part of the climbing community in El Chaltén. What used to be
Yosemite for me has today become Patagonia.

THOMAS HUBER

MATTEO DELLA BORDELLA*

REINHOLD MESSNER

The mountains there are simply beautiful, huge and complex. It is very difficult to get the right
conditions though. You need to be extremely patient in Patagonia and keep trying. In the end, it
always works out somehow. I have worked on the west face of Torre Egger three times. The time
has now come for new climbing projects.
The first impression was of the unmistakeable outline of the mountains: Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre,
Paine Towers. On top of the many extremely difficult routes come the rapidly changing weather and
a short summertime. Nevertheless, the Argentinian flair in El Chaltén and El Calafate make up for
that. Patagonia is in.

WHAT ROLE HAS PATAGONIA PLAYED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLIMBING AS A SPORT?
Because the advancements in development did not reach Patagonia until the 1980s, the Cerro
Torre story in 1959 is very exciting. Idealism and realism clash together as hard as granite on granite. Today’s success with tourism was unthinkable back then in 1959 and even in 1970 in the Compressor Route era, it was still a wilderness. The handful of Estaneieros living there were poor and
treated climbers with scepticism. Today there are luxurious lodges surrounding Torres del Paine
and excellent restaurants in El Chaltén. The tourists make the music while climbers are rated as
exotic, like in Cortina, Italy.
Patagonia’s mountains were, and still are, a magnet for many climbers. Each epoch sees a new
chapter written in the Cerro Torre book and the stories always reflect the status quo of alpinism
worldwide. However, where many climbers gather, sparks will fly. There is hardly any other mountain that has been, and still is, the subject of such heated discussion as Cerro Torre. Cesare Maestri
started the fire and since then this mountain has found itself in the centre of many burning issues
regarding climbing ethics. Cerro Torre is not just about climbing, pain and celebration but arguments as well! However, each round of dispute ends with an acknowledgement and a new stage of
development. Consequently, Patagonia, and especially the Torre, is an indispensable contributor to
the development of alpinism.
The journey to Patagonia used to be a mission in itself. There were no reliable weather forecasts, there was no infrastructure, there was nothing except 100% adventure and pure alpinism.
That is why, in my opinion, classics like the Ragni route on Cerro Torre and the Casarotto or American route on Fitz Roy are real milestones. Of course climbing has evolved. With modern equipment,
more precise weather forecasting and a lighter kit, you can push the limits of difficulty, even here.
Still, climbing here demands maximum effort due to the extremes in the weather and the very
special character of Patagonia. That is why Patagonia will continue to play a major role in alpinism,
even in the future.

Filming “Am Limit” with Alexander
Huber, Stephan Siegrist, Andy Schnarf
2nd withdrawal from Fitz Roy
with Andy Schnarf
Hiking across Hielo Norte ice cap,
traversing from north to south on
the Argentinian side

Luis Pablo Soto Junior is a key figure in the mountaineering town of El Chaltén.
Luis loves this corner of the Earth more than anywhere else. He even loves the wind.
That is because the wind brings change. After all, change isn’t just what brought Luis to
El Chaltén … it’s what brought him full circle.
“Everybody calls me Luisinho because I come from São Paulo.
I am a small guy with big dreams and have been able to experience many extremes in my life. The most vivid and lasting impression was definitely travelling with my family from Brazil to
Patagonia. I was young and it was a nightmare. By the time we
had finally settled in Río Gallegos, my father died. He was 45.
It was a sad ending to a sad story. Yet it was also the beginning
to a new chapter. I now live in my little paradise close to Cerro
Torre.”
Looking back, many things appear to come full circle. Destiny
works that way too. Especially in this case, the story of Luis
Pablo Soto Junior, who feels part of the mountaineering village
of El Chaltén as much as the wind is part of Patagonia. Luis is
convinced that El Chaltén is his calling, the finished puzzle, put

12

2010

together from the myriad pieces of his extraordinary and eventful life. The puzzle includes the building blocks from his earlier
years, too, Luis is sure of that. One thing is clear: the death of
his father really moved Luis deep down. The process of dealing
with his loss took place on long journeys while in deep thought.
One question kept cropping up: “Why did my father bring us to
Patagonia?”
In 1995, while exploring further afield in Patagonia, Luis wandered into El Chaltén for the first time. “It was a difficult place
to get to back then and I was almost disappointed at having
decided to go on this trip. The old bus, the almost impassable
road, two days’ rough ride, El Chaltén – a settlement of just 60
houses at the time, a small shop and nothing else. Plus I was

poorly equipped with a dilapidated tent and shabby clothing. Our
destination was Laguna de los Tres. Mother Nature blessed us
with the finest weather. Suddenly I was face to face with these
granite mountains and knew that after searching for 19 years,
I had found my place: El Chaltén. I’m convinced that this was a
gift from my father.” For several years after that, Luis worked
in El Chaltén during the high season, until in 2007 he bought his
own plot of land and settled there.
And why? It is quite simple: “El Chaltén is very special in many
ways. Above all, Chaltén is the place of big utopias. This is where
big dreams grow and become reality like a tree in the middle of
the desert.” Luis talks of an “ancient place with a young population”, a kind of melting pot, an extreme soup kitchen where
everybody has to adapt to the barren wilderness of Patagonia.
The process of adaptation brings out the best, as well as the
worst. The worst things usually happen first. That can be a
source of motivation to develop and grow. If you are unable to
evolve here, then you will fail. Vice versa, this also means: “If
you believe in your dreams and work hard, wonders will happen
here sooner than anywhere else. Change is practically the underlying theme here in El Chaltén.”

HAS YOUR CLIMBING CHANGED AS A RESULT OF BEING IN PATAGONIA?

CAN YOU GIVE PATAGONIA NEWBIES A TIP?

I have certainly learned a lot. A big wall in Patagonia is different from anywhere else. The extremely unpredictable weather, long periods of waiting, and very long approaches. All these factors
have definitely contributed to me greatly improving my mountaineering skills within a short time.

If you are pursuing an objective in Patagonia, it may take some time, but you must never lose
hope. You have to wait, be patient, believe in your project and always be ready for the moment when
the signs are favourable.

Everybody who has been to Patagonia and has left their footprints in Torre Valley and experienced the mountains in one form or another, is part of the great Patagonian story. It is not important who was first, but what you were able to experience in these mountains. I am happy to be able
to say that I was able to experience everything. From the most beautiful moments on a summit to
epic experiences. However, my climbing has not been changed by these mountains. Since I was a
young boy, my main motivation was my longing for the mountains. And these mountains leave so
much room for the craziest ideas. There is only one thing that has changed. During the first few
years I looked forward to seeing the mountains, while today I look forward to meeting all my friends
in El Chaltén again.

For me Patagonia is the perfect place to slow down! At last you have time to do nothing. And
this is a great thing! Things you were never aware of suddenly become important. Here you learn
virtues such as patience and finding inner peace. But when the weather clears, then you need to
get energised, and you have to do that at the drop of a hat! In Patagonia it is always the now that is
decisive and not the tomorrow, because by then you have usually already lost.

AND PATAGONIA? HAS PATAGONIA CHANGED BECAUSE OF CLIMBING?
Patagonia has seen positive development from tourism. We hope that the Estaneias survive and
that visitors from all over the world experience more than a boozy evening looking out of their hotel
windows. You haven’t experienced Patagonia without the wind in your face.
Time is running out for the inhabitants of El Chaltén. Ever since the road from El Calafate to El
Chaltén was paved, the village is drowning in tourists in the high season. The biggest problem here
is definitely logistics: disposing of waste water and garbage. The community needs to do something
quickly, but there isn’t really a solution in sight at the moment!
It is difficult to assess the developments. Anything can happen. Although tourism is developing
rapidly, I hope that the mountains can retain their wild beauty and dignity. For me that means no
houses or buildings outside El Chaltén. Patagonia must not be allowed to degenerate to a kind of
Mont Blanc with a cable car up the mountain.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST INTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN PATAGONIA?
The exposure in the middle of the Hielo Continental: whiteout, snow, soaked to the skin. That
was an incredible feeling. While writing the book “Torre: Scream of Stone” I kept on zooming back
to Patagonia. It was a good time. When Walter Saxer and I were researching for the film “Scream
of Stone” (directed by Werner Herzog), we were squatting in one of the shelters on Laguna del
Torre – wood and plastic, rain above us – when a young man entered, dug his ice axe into the crossbar of the tent and held out his hand to me. I looked him in the eye first, before taking his hand: he
had no fingers. He introduced himself as “El Loco” – his hands had frozen on Cerro Torre. That is
Patagonia.
The greatest moments were the asado barbecues with friends at “Don Gera” where we always
celebrated the end to a successful season. We always celebrated because we never left Patagonia
as losers. The saddest moment was when the park rangers together with a headstrong climber
tore down the historic hut in Camp Bridwell.
For me it was the summit of Torre Egger. That was definitely one of the greatest highlights of my
climbing career and my life as a whole.

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Luis has seen a lot of things happen here. He has seen policemen who have become Rastas, hippies who have become businessmen, gauchos who have become climbers. It is the cosmopolitan mix in this small melting pot in the middle of nowhere.
No wonder that the locals communicate using a colourful mix of
Spanish, English, German, Italian, Portuguese and many other
languages. Luis reckons that has a lot to do with the weather,
which can change so rapidly and distinctly in El Chaltén. When
Luis arrived here, there was no infrastructure: twelve hours of
electricity a day, a few gauchos, gravel roads and lots of wind.
Now there are taxis, good restaurants, Wi-Fi and lots of wind.
In fact, the wind is one of the few consistent factors down here.
“The wind is your boss,” says someone who should know, who
has actually seen people with 35-kilogramme backpacks be
blown ten metres through the air. “Patagonia is wind”, says
Luis. He also says: “The extreme weather helps you to feel more
human again. Part of nature.”
Luis has always felt part of nature, even without the Patagonian
wind. He was always the outdoor type. Kayaking, swimming, cycling or competing in triathlons. And climbing. That is because
when you live here, you have to go climbing. It is not only about

the big walls; around El Chaltén there is also excellent potential
for sport climbing and bouldering. The annual Boulder Festival
at the beginning of February is one of the highlights for Luis
because it is about having fun. They stay up all night, bouldering
and slacklining to a backdrop of sound and drinks. Then there
is the “Piolin de Oro”, the prize awarded for the best alpine performance on the granite walls at the gateway to El Chaltén.
Things get serious at the gateway to El Chaltén. It is only 22
kilometres from El Chaltén to Cerro Torre. “But,” says Luis, “it
is not just El Chaltén you are leaving. With every step you take
you are getting farther away from civilisation. When you are
right at the top you can even see the village. But if the weather
changes from one moment to the next, it can seem as far away
as the moon.” Luis was right on top once. On Cerro Grande, to be
precise, with his buddy Andy Schnarf. People in the village were
slightly surprised at that. Of course Luis goes climbing, but on
big walls? Pragmatically, Luis regards himself to be neither an
alpinist nor a climber: “I have many objectives and dreams in
my life. Climbing is only one of them.” Another is photography.
Another is music. His band “Siete Venas” has just released its
3rd album and that keeps Luis busy with performances, promotion, videos, graphic design and so on. Whichever walk of life he

2014
… and many
more projects
in 2014

chooses, Luis wants to keep learning. Day by day. In his opinion,
he has already learned the most important thing in life:
“If you can’t find happiness in your heart, then you won’t find it
anywhere. But when you have found it, then your life takes on a
different dimension. Then it doesn’t matter whether it is raining
or not, whether you have money or not, then you are happy.”
And Luis found happiness in El Chaltén.

LISTEN TO “SIETE VENAS”

11
2011

7
1

5

5

THE LATEST INNOVATIONS
40
3
4

TEXT: EVA MESCHEDE

2

SUSTAINABILITY – EVERY DROP COUNTS
Being outdoors means being close to nature. Close to the rock while climbing, close to the waterfall
or stream while hiking, close to the skies on the summit. Sustainability is so important because our
earth should stay as beautiful as it is and not just in the mountains. We are already doing a great deal
to minimise our personal ecological footprint: at home we use economical appliances, lamps, toilet
flushes and cars. We buy local fruit and vegetables and fewer processed food products. That the
manufacture of our clothing also consumes resources and makes up a considerable proportion of
the ecological footprint we leave behind is something that we have so far regarded as unavoidable.
The most important attribute of our outdoor outfit has always been functionality. Now it is also
possible to take sustainability into account. This summer, adidas presents the Terrex Swift DryDye
Tee; the first T-shirt that – thanks to innovative technology – does not use a single drop of water for
dyeing the material. No less than 25 litres of water is normally wasted in dyeing a single T-shirt. Put

that in a global perspective and every two years the world’s clothing factories use a volume of water
equivalent to the whole of the Mediterranean Sea just to dye clothes. The new dry dyeing technology
not only saves water but also halves the amount of energy and chemicals used in the process. The
new 1 Terrex Swift DryDye Tee made using Cocona® contains active carbon particles obtained
from coconut shells by an environmentally friendly process to give the shirt a surface structure
that rapidly transports perspiration away from your body to the outside. This means you get the best
functionality with a high level of sustainability and it looks good too. As a result, the adidas shirt was
awarded the “OutDoor INDUSTRY AWARD 2013” in the category “Products of high ecological and
sustainable value”. One shirt is just the beginning, however; adidas plans to manufacture a wide
selection of outdoor outfits using environmentally friendly technology to further reduce water
wastage.

PHOTOS: MICHAEL MEISL

KIDS CLIMBING COLLECTION
Whether you are climbing in sunny Arco, in the shadows of the rocks of Yosemite, or bouldering in Val
di Mello: the kids want to be part of the action. In kindergarten they already have their own climbing
shoes, by the time they are in school they are following their dads and spotting the next handhold on
boulders. Now it’s time to get them their own cool climbing and bouldering outfit. Now available for
girls and boys with the Kids Climbing collection. Girls of all ages will love the Capri Pants that follow
every move with their loose fit – from foot hook to frog style – as well as providing especially high
protection against the sun (UPF 50+). The matching statement piece is the Girls Print Tee, with a cool
graphic print on organic cotton and recycled polyester. The Girls Boulder Tank comes in luminous
colours and thanks to PlayDry technology absorbs and immediately transports perspiration to the
outside for extra comfort. Boys also get their shirts with an eye-catching climbing print (Boys Print
Tee), so that everybody can recognise in which sport they are the champion. The Unisex Boulder
Pants or Bermudas go nicely with that, both offering an extreme sun protection factor (UPF 50+).
The perfect Outdoor outfits for summer.

PHOTO: MICHAEL MEISL

CLIMACOOL BOAT BREEZE
Does the approach to the wall take you across a pebbly mountain stream, shallow seawater next
to a reef or steeply uphill through wet grass? In summer, this can be a fun route to get to the climb
except for the problem with the footwear. Flip-flops are usually too slippery and do not offer enough
protection, while others provide grip and protect your toes but stay wet for the rest of the day. The
right shoes for every route through or around water have finally been designed: the Climacool Boat
Breeze is the newest member of the adidas Boat family and the king of ventilation. The mesh fabric
is not only extremely breathable; it also absorbs virtually no water so that the shoe dries twice as
fast as its predecessor. In addition, there are open channels in the heel to promote airflow. As if
that was not enough already, the sole is equipped with climacool® technology, which means that its
holes provide ventilation from below as well. Plus, because climbing and bouldering approaches
can also be steep, gnarly and smooth at the same time, these shoes also feature extraordinary grip.
Whether it is sea, lake or stream – water is no longer an obstacle.

PHOTOS: TIMELINE PRODUCTION

NON-DYE
On top of our new DryDye technology, adidas also offers NonDye textiles. Following the principle
of “no dyeing – no water wasted”. The material for shirts and jackets goes through the entire
manufacturing process undyed, saving water, chemicals and energy as a consequence. The colour
spectrum of the products ranges from light grey to warm yellow. In this summer’s Everyday
Outdoor Collection there are non-dyed T-shirts with eye-catching prints, like the 2 Everyday
Outdoor Boat Tee, the 3 Everyday Outdoor Logo Linear Tee and the 4 Everyday Outdoor Native
Tee while the Terrex® range includes the 5 Terrex Swift Wind Jacket, a 6 Terrex HiAlpine Vest,
and the super-lightweight 7 Terrex Zupalite Jacket.

CLIMACHILL – COOL BODY, COOL HEAD
When we say cool, we mean cool in every sense. The Terrex CC Chill Tee not only looks cool, it also
cools the skin with completely new climachillTM technology. Regardless of how hot it is outdoors or
how many hours you spend training, climachillTM will keep you looking and feeling cool. climachillTM
is an innovative fabric made using titanium – aka SubZero – yarn and you will immediately notice its
effect: the material provides instant cooling for pleasantly fresh airflow across the skin. The
advanced Delta fibres – which is a woolly, highly breathable material – immediately transport moisture away from the body to the outside and dry very rapidly. However, the highlight of this shirt are
the 3D aluminium cooling spheres placed strategically to provide additional cooling in areas of the
torso most prone to overheating. You can also use the zip to regulate airflow. The result is that even
after hours of action you will not be overheated or soaked in sweat. You will be able to rely on the
science of Chill to attack the 11th pitch or second summit of the day with a cool head.

41

THE LATEST INNOVATIONS

6

MÉLISSA
LE NEVÉ
AND BEN
RUECK ON
R
E
D
L
U
O
B
A
TRIP
THROUGH
MALAWI

02 |

TO: SCOTT NOY
TEXT: BEN RUECK PHO

MALAWI
42

k
This is Africa: Mélissa Le Nevé and Ben Ruec
the
From
i.
Malaw
in
ing
didn’t just go climb
Chambe Peak to Mangochi to Cape Maclear, they
encountered not only breathtaking landscapes
and challenging boulders, but also learnt to not
an
take anything too seriously, be it lost luggage,
a
or
rness
wilde
the
of
le
midd
empty tank in the
rs
climb that can’t be completed. None of it matte
each
chase
ns
baboo
watch
can
too much when you
other into the sunset.
®
app:
Read the whole story in our iPad magazine
adidas.com/outdoor/magazine

04 |

05 |

06 |

MALAWI

01 | Mélissa Le Nevé committing to crimps on her project at the Seminary Boulders.
02 | Three … two … one … splash down! Ben Rueck trying to work out the beta on the river boulder in Thucila.
Always nice to have an audience.
03 | Taking a moment to enjoy the scenery next to the Thucila river boulders.
04 | Ben Rueck seconding “3 Minutes Left”.
05 | Check Mate! Mélissa and Jules mastering chess and thinking a little too much over morning coffee.
06 | Ben and Mélissa trying to work out what to do with all the skin cuts and bruises from the sharp granite.
07 | Look out below! Mél finishing up the first ascent of the high ball boulder, “3 Minutes Left”.
08 | The game is afoot! Prepping to unlock the Seminary Boulders behind St Paul’s Apostle.

N

S

CANADA

HIGHWAY 37, THE ONE AND ONLY BRIDGE ACROSS THE
STIKINE RIVER DISAPPEARED RAPIDLY OVER THE HORIZON. FOR
THE FIRST SIX KILOMETRES THE STIKINE FLOWED ACROSS
A WIDE, GRAVEL RIVER BED. STILL, NO CANYON IN SIGHT.

N

01 |

STIKINE

S

THAT’S WHEN IT GOES FROM ZERO TO 100 IN THREE SECONDS.
Called “The Mount Everest of kayaking”, the grand canyon of the Stikine in northern Canada marks the
pinnacle of difficulty in expedition kayaking: 60 kilometres long, 460 metres deep, flowing at a rate of 350
cubic metres per second, and boasting 30 top-grade rapids, many of them through narrows, the Stikine
lives up to its “Everest” reputation. The gorge, with its challenging narrows, hidden bends and roaring
maelstrom of whitewater, creates conditions that would make going through a high-speed blender seem
safer. The Stikine’s location in Canada’s wilderness - among grizzlies, wolves and mountain goats offers one of the most amazing displays of untouched nature that you can experience by boat. No surprise then that the Stikine is rated as one of the toughest yet most beautiful wildwater trips on earth.

43

| 03

Most of the falls in the canyon run through narrows. In this terrain, it is actually impossible to escape,
get out and carry your kayak past. It’s full-on commitment. Wasson’s Hole is one such narrow, an
infamous rapid in which John Wasson almost lost his life during his first attempt to paddle these waters. We exit at the last possible eddy before Wasson’s Hole to climb high and gain perspective on the
narrow. What we see terrifies us: a considerable vertical drop with a powerful diagonal wave running
in the centre and a huge breaking wave at the end on the left wall.

STIKINE

Down river, the beautiful Stikine becomes a kayak tourer’s nightmare. “Unnavigable by all craft,” reads
the warning sign at the entrance to the area. A huge rock chasm reminiscent of Mount Mordor from
“Lord of the Rings” swallows the pumping river quicker than you could ever imagine. The water flows
in placidly and peacefully, offering a sense that there might even be plenty of opportunities to turn
around. But it’s actually a trap. Just around the corner, between two sheer vertical walls, you encounter Entry Falls: one of the most difficult sections of the Stikine. It calls to mind the opening sentence
of a favourite documentary: “The river enthrals you with its beauty, infatuates you with its grace - and
kills you with its force.” Darin McQuoid, our photographer, and I climb high to the canyon rim and crawl
through the undergrowth to the edge to take a look at the waterfalls below. From above, the scene is
a thundering chaos of rock and water. We move into our positions and roll the cameras. Sam Sutton
(NZL), Gerd Serrasolses (ESP), Jared Meehan (NZL) and Aniol Serrasolses (ESP) stay on the river and
have to paddle down first. When they appear an hour later, we are shocked at the dimensions. Their
kayaks are dwarfed, looking like tiny toy boats, amid the shocking mass of water. What appears from
our angle to be a small entry wave crashes several metres on top of them. They paddle like machines
to maintain as perfect a line as possible, zigzagging into the first eddy below. Aniol’s kayak is caught in
a breaking wave and he is forced into a roll. One thing is clear, the Stikine is no kids’ party and whoever
enters this maze will have to face a truth within their inner selves.

The choice of line was easy: centre-right. As soon as the path was determined, we suppress our rising
fears by taking immediate action. With your heart beating so loud that you think you ought to be able to
hear it echoing in the canyon walls, we boarded our boats and headed on our line: centre-right. That
was when we noticed that the whole approach was on a slant, sloping over to the left … and straight
into an apocalyptic hole. With all our strength we just managed to stay on course along the middle of
the flow and we barely swept past a treacherous wall of water.
Out of the corner of our eye we catch a glimpse of the biggest wave of our lives …

TEXT: OLAF OBSOMMER PHOTO: DARIN MCQUOID

Find out whether the team can handle with the biggest wave of their lives in the iPad® magazine app:
adidas.com/outdoor/magazine

| 07

|8

TEXT: FABIO PALMA PHOTOS: ADRIANO CARNATI

WELCOME STEFANO CARNATI

15 years old. Youth Lead world champion. Youth Lead European champion. Youth Bouldering European champion.
First place in the Youth Lead European Cup. He started climbing at eleven, reaching 8a in less than one
year – and everybody remembers when he was doing desperate dynos because he was too short.
By twelve he climbed his first 8b and his first 8a boulder. Less than two years after his first fifth grade!
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST SPORT YOU PRACTISED?

TO WHAT EXTENT DID VIDEOS HELP YOU PROGRESS SO QUICKLY?

I began with gymnastics in the last year of nursery school and did that for six years. It was my
sport; I wasn’t good at soccer or any other team sport.

Really a lot. Firstly “Dosage” and “Progression”. In particular the ones with Sharma, Robinson
and Woods.

GOOD … BUT DIDN’T YOU TAKE PART IN NATIONAL COMPETITIONS?

ARE YOU INTO ROCK OR COMPETITIONS?

Stefano stares at me seriously and with no trace of pride he answers: Yes, twice – in the last year of
primary school and in the first year of middle school.

My heart is in the rock, but competitions allow a comparison. I thought I was not going to compete
this year because last year the competitions stole too many of my weekends. I honestly didn’t
expect such results – when I was among the best in Grindelwald, Switzerland, I was surprised.
And also in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the Youth European Lead Championship, somebody managed
8c+, while I got to 8b+.

AND HOW WAS IT?
I finished 5th at the parallels and 6th at the bar the first time, then 4th and 6th the following year.
I wasn’t able to train that much, maybe I could have done better.

PEOPLE SAY YOU’RE A KILLER IN THE FINAL.

REALLY NOT BAD. DID YOU TRAIN LESS THAN THE OTHERS?

I don’t know ... he smiles a little … maybe ...

I’m able to focus and I give my best in the final. I’ve less pressure when I climb onsight. In the
qualifying climbs I’m always more nervous. But we’re all nervous. I prefer the final because you
don’t know how the others did. In Edinburgh the isolation was really total … I was second in the
qualifications, I came out, well, the others were really fast, I imagined they had fallen low.

AND YOUR PARENTS?

WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU IN SCHOOL?

Because the gym was far away, I could only train twice a week, instead of four or five times.

SO YOU HAD TALENT?

WELCOME

They brought me to the competitions; my dad was always taking pictures.

They don’t know that much. He smiles. They think I do something like climbing on Everest.

AND CLIMBING?

YOU’RE GOOD AT SCHOOL, RIGHT?

44

I wasn’t interested in that. When my dad went to the crags he used to bring me and my mum, but
I just played around there.

His mum proudly intervenes. He’s among the best, she says.
I like studying, especially science subjects like physics. First I study, then I train.

YOUR FATHER IS A VERY GOOD CLIMBER, AND ALSO A FAMOUS ALPINIST.
DID HE REALLY NOT PRESSURE YOU TO TRY CLIMBING?

HOW OFTEN?

Never. I knew about his skill, of course, but simply climbing was not an option to me. I remember
I was only interested in doing pendulum on some overhanging crags, and that’s all.

HOW DO YOU TRAIN?

Five, sometimes six times a week. If the weather is good at the weekend, I climb on rock, of course.

SO WHEN DID YOU GET THE SPARK?
One September we were in Bürs, Austria. I tried a 5th grade, all dirty. Really not a nice route! But
I liked it. On lead. It was September 2009. Then one month later I climbed some 6a and 6b, which
were interesting and the rock was less dirty. I quit gymnastics. They even phoned my mother to
convince me to come back, but climbing became my only target together with school.

AND IN FEBRUARY, IF I’M RIGHT, YOU FREE-CLIMBED ON LEAD A 7A+ IN GAJUM,
ITALY. AND IN APRIL YOUR FIRST 8A.
He smiles. Yes, in Scarenna, Italy.

EIGHT MONTHS FOR CLIMBING 8A IS NOT BAD. BUT DIDN’T YOUR FATHER EVER
LET YOU TRY CLIMBING BEFORE?
No, I wasn’t interested and he didn’t say anything. I went to the Ragni climbing gym and jumped
on the mats while he was training. It was a personal decision, he never pushed me. When he was
going to Céüse in France, my mum and I stopped at the Gîte d´étape, which didn’t admit kids,
but I was an exception. I was doing the Bachar ladder on the stairs! Just playing and doing gym.

B

R

A

N

D

O

F

T

H

E

B

R

I do everything by myself, including physical workouts. I’m not very strong but I think I have good
technique thanks to the rock. I got the co-ordination from gymnastics – I’m very agile and train
this skill with stretching one hour per day.

IS THE ROCK IMPORTANT FOR THE COMPETITIONS?
Fundamental. You immediately notice the ones who climb on rock – like the French – by their foot
technique.

WHAT ABOUT THE YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS?
I climbed very badly in the qualifications and in the semi-finals. I started the final in 7th place. I
wasn’t the favourite because in Vancouver I couldn’t train and didn’t have a permit to go to the gym.
I was lucky that the final was just after the semi-final, and I climbed very well in that moment.
I was a little bit surprised that I won, but I was very quiet and focussed, thinking only about the
climb and getting up there.

I KNOW THAT AFTER THIS AMAZING VICTORY YOUR FAMILY GAVE YOU A TRIP TO
FRANKENJURA, GERMANY, AGAIN AS A PRESENT.
Yes, for a couple of days before school started. It’s a fantastic place and ... well, there is “Action
Directe”! I tried it. I will come back next year, sure. I want to try it seriously.

A

V

E

Any monkey resoled with
STEALTH rubber
could outclimb any other
monkey in the world.

NO MONKEYS WERE RESOLED IN THE MAKING OF THIS ADVERTISEMENT
(WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION).

SHORTCUTS

El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, California. Surreal,
impressive, fascinating. Images of the Dawn
Wall have appeared in bursts and spurts over
the last six years on the inter-webbed screens
of the climbing community. There were some
surreal pics that impacted our retinas from our
retina screens, photos of Tommy Caldwell as
he attempted to hold tiny texture features on
the Molar Traverse hundreds of metres above
Yosemite Meadow. As he tried to make a sequence out of the tiny holds, pull by pull, move
by move, metre by metre, day by day, always
getting a bit further and a bit more precise.
In fall 2007, Tommy started on his dream, the
free ascent of Dawn Wall, a complex 1,000metre high line across the smoothest area of
the wall on El Capitan. Bordered in the west by
the famous “Nose” route, it follows close to the
old “Mescalito” route to the summit of El Cap.
Tommy worked hard on his dream, weeks at
a time, in spite of wind and weather, but with
each day reckoned more and more that he
was not up to this project on his own. In 2009,
Tommy received support from Kevin Jorgeson.
Kevin was, and still is, one of the best boulderers in the USA, well-known for the strength of
his nerves in handling fear-inducing highballs.
Tommy – with his years of experience – and
Kevin – with his discipline from bouldering –
worked well as a team and managed to climb
higher and higher from one season to the next.
They have spent a great deal of time on the wall
together and are getting closer and closer to
their objective of free-climbing the whole route.
If they manage, Dawn Wall will be one of the
toughest free-climbing routes in the world.
“The Dawn Wall – Episodes” on:
www.youtube.com/adidasoutdoortv 1. 2. 2.

2. ANDY RAETHER

5. KALYMNOS

7. VESELIN OVCHAROV

Creativity means to Andy Raether creating
something that others can look forward to.
However, creating something means investing work and energy. Mr Raether enjoys work,
and created on Mount Potosi a rock monument
right behind where he lives in Las Vegas, a
bunch of unique climbing lines that we can now
look forward to. It almost looks as though Andy
knew Einstein, who said: “Personalities are
not formed by beautiful speeches, but through
work and achievements.”

The small Greek island in the Aegean Sea is
well-known for its unbelievable climbing and
even more unbelievable tufas. Now there is new
growth to fulfil multi-pitch ambitions. In September 2013, Peter Keller, Markus Leippold
and Urs Odermatt first-sent the route “3 Stripes”
(6SL/5c/175 metres) on the left of the Grande
Grotta and set it up for leisure climbers.

In May 2013, four friends set off to the Far East,
to Islamabad in Pakistan. The members of the
group are Veso Ovcharov from Bulgaria, Peter
Loncar from Serbia, François Ragolski from
France and the filmmaker Adrien Shams, likewise from France. Their geographic objective:
the Karakorum Range in the north of the country. Their climbing objective: a route record and
an altitude record. Their equipment: paragliders. They travelled by 4WD along the Karakorum Highway, aka “Highway to Hell”, to Hushe
near the border with India. Here, the ice giants
K2, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum dominate the
landscape. In Hushe they meet Little Abdul Karim, a porter who has made a name for himself.
Locally, he is known as “King of Karakorum”.
This small man, who always greets you with
a smile, is without doubt one of the greatest
mountaineers there has ever been. “Do not underestimate the weather, wait until the sun is
smiling in your face,” says Karim with a broad
grin. The coming weeks result in no altitude
record and no route record. Then they dare to
take a risk, and in the end it pays off. The team
can look forward to the greatest flight of their
lives. The three paraglider pilots reach a maximum altitude of 6,500 metres, fly close along
the ridge of the 7,788-metre high Rakaposhi,
sailing past the mighty seracs on Masherbrum,
which is almost 8,000 metres high, and glide for
hours between some of the highest mountains
in the world and the golden granite of Trango
Towers. The dream of flying – this must be what
it feels like. It is almost a cliché to write about
the friendliness of the people of Baltis, but
this was also one of the experiences on their
journey. The four adventurers were impressed
with the joy of life expressed by these mountain
dwellers. Especially considering that they are
facing a lot of social and political problems in
their country as well as the day by day struggle
against hunger, poverty and cold. Inshallah - all
their wishes will become true soon.
https://vimeo.com/74703789

3. DANIEL PEIS & REINI KLEINDL
In August 2013, Daniel and Reini flew with some
friends to the Malayan part of Borneo, to Sabah,
where Mount Kinabalu reaches to the sky. They
climbed its ridges, set up highlines, bouldered
and rode downhill bikes as well as unicycles.
Reini walked an outstanding 60 metre highline
at the Donkey Ears at 4,045 metre. The highest Highline in South East Asia and very likely
the most beautiful. The finale for Mr Peis was
a flight in a paraglider from the highest point in
Borneo over the oldest rainforest in the world.
Find out more in the interactive iPad® magazine:

6. BERND ZANGERL
An adventure that takes us on a trip to the
Far East. A journey that starts in “Flirsch am
Arlberg”, a journey that passes through Turkey,
Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, a journey
that ends in a remote corner of Kyrgyzstan.
Bernd Zangerl, following the spirit of discovery,
undertook a search lasting several months for
new, virgin boulder areas. Whom will he meet
on his travels? Do his newly gathered experiences confirm some preconceived ideas of the
western media or are they indeed completely
different? He will always remember the words
of one Iranian climber: “If there are no rocks,
there is no happiness.”

adidas.com/outdoor/magazine

4. TOMASS MARNICS
Tomass Marnics travelled to Siberia for the
10th time in a row. And why? Only here can he
find peace and quiet away from the modern society that often makes him so tired. Thousands
of rivers flow from the bowels of the numerous
Russian mountain ranges, making Siberia one
of the best places for white water kayaking.
“Life here is so simple, just me with my friends,
wilderness and fantastic kayaking, what could
be better?” says Tomass. “I plan on coming
back here again and again.”
Wanna see more about his Kayaking trips to
Siberia check out: www.tomassmarnics.com

4

5

2

1

facebook.com/adidasoutdoor

6

3

instagram.com/adidasoutdoor

adidasoutdoortv

19–20 SEPTEMBER, adidas ROCKSTARS, PORSCHE ARENA, STUTTGART, GERMANY
19 September 2014, Professional Qualification and first round of the Amateur Competition
20 September 2014, start of the Amateur Finals followed by the Professional Semi-finals and Finals
Climbing meets music. Bouldering is climbing without a rope at leaping height. This climbing sport has seen a huge increase in popularity over the last 20
years. Bouldering is about rapid movement, strength and dynamics.
In terms of music, everybody has experienced the motivation that music can have on the body and spirit. Music can trigger emotions in seconds. The right
beat can get people to clap, while a well-known melody invites them to sing along. Music motivates us and makes emotional moments unforgettable. Sport
and music are intrinsically linked. Each athlete moves to his individual rhythm and every boulder demands its unique pace. Boulders compose movements in
the same way as musicians compose their music: creatively, progressively, and never in a straight line. This fall adidas Rockstars invites you to the Stuttgart
Porsche Arena again to witness the top 30 boulderers in the world, and highly motivated amateur boulderers. A rock band will supply the energy-driven
audio backdrop to the athletic high performance produced on the boulder walls, animated by the spectators, and provides a link between the spectators and
the athletes. That is when we will find out if anybody can topple Juliane Wurm from Germany and Jeremy Kruder from Slovenia from their throne. To get to
compete against the professionals you have to win the amateur competition, because only the winner gets a wild card.
This fall is going to rock again!
adidas-rockstars.com

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both skin and shirt dry. FORMOTION® ultimate performance
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Features a TRAXION™ outsole with Continental rubber
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breathability. ADIPRENE®+ cushioning in the heel and 3D
FORMOTION® unit reduce impact force and improve comfort
on steep descents.

4-way water resistant stretch fabric for complete freedom
of motion and comfort all year round. Built-in belt gives a
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Solo #M22271

Terrex
Fast R Mid GTX® #G64507

This alpine approach shoe has a new STEALTH rubber
outsole for unbeatable grip, especially on wet and rocky
surfaces. Features waterproof GORE-TEX® membrane and
supportive ADIPRENE® comfort. TRAXIONTM incorporates
stability and grip for hiking.

Updated technical hiking shoe now features TRAXION™ outsole
with Continental rubber compound for confidence-inspiring
grip on any surface. GORE-TEX® for waterproof breathability.
ADIPRENE®+ cushioning in the heel and 3D FORMOTION® unit
reduce impact force and improve comfort on steep descents.
Built with a women’s-specific last for a dialled-in fit.

Lightweight and breathable fast hiking shoe. Features a
waterproof GORE-TEX® membrane, ADIPRENE®+ cushioning
in the heel and a TRAXION™ outsole for optimal grip in all
conditions.

€ 000,00

€ 000,00

€ 000,00

#G97923

#D66497

€ 000,00

#G97939

AX 2 Mid GTX® #Q34285

AX 2 GTX® #M22935

AX 2 #Q34286

Support and weather protection in a versatile outdoor
boot. GORE-TEX® membrane keeps feet dry while offering
breathability. TRAXION™ outsole for grip in a range of
conditions. Last provides a customised fit for women’s feet.

The “Lecco Spiders” is the climbing club of the famous
Grignetta Spiders Mountaineering Association in Italy.
They can look back on a long list of international
successes that stretches back more than 60 years. They
have among their ranks past heroes Cassin and Casimiro
Ferrari, and current big names such as Matteo Della
Bordella and Fabio Palma. Over the years they have not
only opened up numerous new routes but also been in
the spotlight of international fame.

DAV Summit Club GmbH is the German Alpine Association’s mountaineering school and special travel
organiser for active mountaineering and cultural
vacations worldwide. DAV Summit Club evolved from
the mountaineering service of the DAV founded in 1957
and is now one of the largest mountaineering schools
in the world.

The Zugspitze Mountaineering School is the mountain
guide association on Germany’s highest mountain. The
specialist knowledge of the team is clear from the high
quality of training and tours they provide. Some are old
hands with a valuable source of knowledge; others are
up-to-date thanks to their training activities with various
alpine associations and many tours with their clients,
who they don’t only accompany up the Zugspitze.

The Zermatt Alpin Center – founded in 1894, the Swiss
association can look back on a highly successful history
spanning more than 100 years. Over 60 professional
mountain guides at the Zermatt Alpin Center have been
relying on adidas Outdoor products since spring 2011.